Some Promises Break
by jeannhavoc
Summary: Before the Star-Crossed Lovers of District 12, there were two others who made it out alive as well. But will they later face the same consequences as Katniss and Peeta or worse?
1. Beginning of an End

I stirred in bed when I felt small droplets of water falling on my face. I guess I just left the window open again during a rainfall. I reached up to close the window, but my hand hit the glass. Opening my eyes, I saw that in fact, my window was closed, and it wasn't raining outside. The sunlight made me squint my eyes; in an attempt to see. More water fell on me and I turned towards my right to see my best friend, Safire Hayes, standing near my bed with a cup of water in her hand.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, drying my face with my blanket and sitting upright; leaning on the wall behind me.

"Today's the big day! Our final year of being eligible for the reaping! After today, it's goodbye Hunger Games and hello freedom!" Safire twirled around in her green dress. Her short black hair twirled along with her dress. After about a minute or two of watching her, I threw my pillow in her direction. "That's not nice, Kai!"

"Then maybe you should be twirl around so early in the morning!" I said, finally getting out of my bed and stretching. That's when I noticed the face Safire gave me.

"Kai, it's one in the afternoon. You have an hour to get ready for the reaping," I froze. I had over slept an extra three hours. I blame it all on the fishing my dad had Derrick and I do yesterday. Running towards the bathroom, I did my morning routine about five times faster than usual. My mom had laid out a bronze colored dress for me by the closet. I slipped it on and put on the gold sandals she left nearby too. "I think I'll just put your hair up in a ponytail," Safire said, pulling my hair back and tying it.

"Thanks," I say and walk out the door with her. We have about half an hour to get to the Justice Building, sign in and wait. We rush out the door, in hopes to find Derrick as we ran towards the Justice Building. As if right on cue, Derrick was waiting for us by the entrance to the reaping. His dirty blonde hair was messier than ever and his pale green eyes seem to be gazing off in different directions. "Shouldn't you been inside already, Roxon?" I smirked at him.

"Well, I couldn't enter without us making our annual pact, now could I?" he smiled, opening his arms to us for a group hug. When he let go, Derrick opened his mouth to speak. "If we get picked, we can't volunteer for each other; unless it's family. Nor do we volunteer for anyone else. After the reaping, we go into the sea and just float around until we get yelled at. Other than that, may the odds be ever in your favor," Derrick spoke in a Capitol accent. We clapped our hands twice and hit our heels; signifying we promised to keep this pact. Walking into the town square, we line up to sign in at the front of the Justice Building.

"After years of being finger-pricked, you'd think one would get used to it," Safire complained as us three got our pricked at the same time, at different stations.

"At least it'll be the last time. I knew there were some perks to being eighteen," Derrick grinned, waving goodbye as he went off to line up on the boys section.

"Don't know why he's so cheery when his brother could still be picked into the games. Doesn't he worry about that sometimes?" Safire asked.

"Maybe he's trying not to show his worry. I think Der is just showing his brother that even in bad times, there's still some faith," I answered, feeling wise for once in a lifetime. Safire just shrugged. We continued whispering to each other, even during the announcements of the Capitol and some things our district's escort was saying. We started talking about what we were going to do this summer after school was over. Safire started talking about what we'd do after the reaping. I told her not to think too far ahead yet. But she shushed me by saying that it gives us hope that we'll see another tomorrow. But then I heard those two words that made all my emotions disappear and be replaced with fear.

"Kai Rankin. Kai, are you out there dear?" Wes Dunn, our escort, called out to me. I was pretty sure everyone could see how pale my face had gotten. My feet didn't move and I felt Safire's hand squeeze mine tight. I finally started to move, but her hand held me back.

"It's going to be okay," I whispered to her with a smile. She nodded, slowly letting go. As I walked out of the crowd, I caught a glimpse of Der. He looked just as horrified as Safire. I nodded to him too and continued walking towards the front of the crowd. The peacekeepers kept close to me, in case I tried to escape. But even my fear wouldn't let me do that. I climbed the stairs and stood to Wes' left, waiting for any volunteers.

"Do we have a volunteer for Miss Rankin?" he asked. I could see that Safire was slowly making her way to the pathway. But Derrick and I just shook our heads at her. Without anyone stepping up, we continued. Wes walked over to the other oversized fish bowl and dug out a name. "Sam Fathy," he called. The name sounded familiar to me but I couldn't put my finger on it. A boy, maybe about thirteen walked up to the stage. He had brown hair and brown eyes. He was most likely a few inches shorter than me too. I could see Sam shaking from the corner of my eye. Then again, who wouldn't be afraid at this moment; even if you're from a career district? "Do we have a volunteer for Mister Fathy?" Wes spoke into the microphone.

"I volunteer!" another boy called out. Today was not a good day. Besides being reaped for the games, I recognized the voice of the volunteer. With the same hair color as Derrick, green eyes that were a bit more colorful and the same skin tone, it just had to be him. I watched as Derrick's younger brother, Toby, walked to the stage. I kept my gaze on the floor, not wanting to see Der's face at the moment.

"And what's your name boy?" Wes asked, putting the microphone to Toby's mouth.

"Toby Roxon," he answered.

"Alright, District four; meet your tributes; Kai Rankin and Toby Roxon!" Wes clapped and hurriedly escorted us into the Justice Building. Toby and I were sent to different rooms for our goodbyes. I sat in a chair, hearing my mother's voice screaming in my head: "_I've lost one child to the games! I'm not going to lose the only one I have left!_" About two minutes passed when there's a knock on my door and a peacekeeper enters.

"You have a few minutes to say goodbye," he said, walking out and having my parents rush in. Immediately, my mother hugs me tight; afraid that this will be the last time she'll do so.

"It's okay, mom. Everything's going to be okay," I rubbed her back, hoping it would cut her sobs down. But it had only made them worse. My mom finally nodded and let go of me. Her hazel eyes looked down at my hands and now it was my dad's turn to say goodbye.

"I know you'll come back. All those years of learning new weapons and how to use them, all the swimming, running, and fishing was for this. Though, I had really hoped you wouldn't be in your brother's place," he said, playing with my ponytail. I was eleven when my brother, Bryce, was reaped. He had survived the bloodbath, but died when he walked into an unknown trap set up by a district one girl. I nodded, trying to stay positive for them.

"Your time's up," the peacekeeper from before barged in. My parents kissed me on the forehead and said their last goodbyes. I felt like crying, but I knew it wouldn't help my case right now. I felt myself start shaking a little; I could even feel my teeth clatter against each other. Just as I was going to sit back down on the chair, there was another knock on the door and Safire and Derrick walked in.

"Turns out the boy Toby volunteered for is his girlfriend's brother," Derrick said as Safire ran over to hug me. "Mom flipped her lid and yelled at him for volunteering. All this for a girl,"

"How can you be so calm? Your best friend and your brother have to go against each other soon!" Safire yelled. I couldn't blame her. The entire day, Derrick was calm, even when his brother volunteered I think. Or maybe he just doesn't want us to worry about his feelings.

"He probably has his reasons, Saf. Don't force it out of him," I said. Derrick nodded, walking over to us and engaged in another group hug like before.

"Promise you'll keep him alive as long as you can, Kai. We won't be mad if he doesn't make it back, but just keep him alive long enough," he said, softly. I nodded, knowing that it was the most likely thing I'd do anyway.

"Alright, time's up!" a peacekeeper barged in. The three of us quickly did our pact promised gesture before Safire and Derrick were dragged out. I waved, utterly hoping it won't be the last time I'd get to. I waited another few minutes until another peacekeeper came and escorted me outside with Toby. Wes was waiting for us by a black car and gestured us to get in. He sat in between us, talking about how we were lucky to represent our district this year. I tuned him out; looking out the window the entire ride until we reached the train that would take us to the Capitol. Once there, we got out of the car but only to be surrounded by a mob of people. They were all yelling different things like 'Come back to us!' and 'Make us proud!'. I didn't dare look back at their faces. There might be some that I wouldn't want to see for the last time.

"You will be traveling in style! Plus, with amazing food you can't find here in district four," Wes perked from behind us. The train had red colored walls, with gold light posts in between each window. There was a small bar, four chairs facing each other and a chandelier hanging above them. The windows had gold colored curtain hanging from them. I guess the person who designed this train must've loved gold a lot. "Just sit in the chairs for now. Your mentors will be out soon to greet you," he smiled and walked into another cart. There was an awkward silence between Toby and I, so I finally decided to break it.

"I hear the boy you volunteered for was your girlfriend's brother," I said. I could see him nodding, but still not looking at me. "Why'd you do it?" I asked. Toby sighed, rubbing his hands together as if he were suddenly cold.

"Sam means a lot to Lexandra. If Sam had gone into the arena and not made it back home, it would devastate her," he answered.

"What if you don't come back out? How would she feel then?" I personally thought Lexandra would feel the same way if either of them went into the arena. She would lose one person she loved in the end.

"I didn't think about it when I volunteered. I just didn't want Sam to go into that dreadful place," Toby's voice went low. It seemed he had regretted volunteering, but at the same time, he didn't. Toby was about to mention something else when someone walked into our compartment. With his bronze hair and sea green eyes, it was easy to tell who he was.

"Hey, I'm Finnick Odair and I'll be one of your mentors, along with Mags," he said, sitting down on the chair in front of me. Mags was an old woman who won the games long before any of us were born. They say that she is the only victor still alive today who was around when the games first started. She proceeded to sit on the chair in front of Toby and clasped her hands together before looking around. "Our job is to help you come back home in one piece. We'll explain to you about getting sponsors, training and how to survive long enough in the arena," We nodded. I quickly glanced out the window and noticed the train was moving. Finnick must've noticed my expression because he went on to say how the train had been moving this whole time. We just didn't feel it because of the way it's designed. "One piece of advice I'd like you to remember is space. Make plenty of space between you and the other tributes. Hide in tress if there's any. Hide under water long enough if you can. Be very sneaky and cautious on whom you plan making your first or next victim; especially with Districts one and two. Even though we're a career district too, they are trained far more intensively than we are and live their life to be in the games,"

"What about allies?" Toby asked, leaning back on his chair. Finnick nodded, but I gave him a strange look. I never really thought making allies was a good idea. You get attached to them and what if it's just you two at the end?

"We'll cover that too. But right now, I want to know if you are good with any weapons or skills. So start sharing," Finnick added. Toby and I stayed quiet for some time. As of right now, I didn't know if Tobes had any skills with weaponry and other things. "Well?"

"I'm okay with a spear," I finally said. It took me back to the time when my fishing rod had broken and I started using a spear to catch anything I could in the water. Dad said that I was more skilled with it than I ever was with a fishing hook.

"Okay? Every time she throws her spear into the water, she manages to get fish. I remember my brother brought home a large trout, the size of my arm, and said that Kai had caught it and didn't want it. I think that's more than just okay," Toby spoke. I gazed at him. I couldn't believe he had remembered that time. It was about two years ago and I couldn't even remember what it happened. "Plus, my brother, their best friend and her train with a new weapon each year. They've learned how to use swords, knives, axes, spears, bows and arrows, how to make traps, gather and just basic survival things. Kai is just being very modest,"

"It seems you really are trained for all this, aren't you Kai?" Odair smirked at me. Sighing and rolling my eyes at him, I nodded; knowing there was no point in arguing with him.

"Alright, fine. Yes, I am particularly skilled with certain weapons and skills. That doesn't mean I'll have the nerve to kill someone," Finnick chuckled. Mags, on the other hand, was very quiet throughout this entire conversation. Maybe that's just the way she observes people.

"If you want to survive, you'll have to. Unless it's accidental but that's rarely the case here. But anyway, Mags and I mentor a bit differently than other mentors. I prefer to mentor the female tributes while Mags takes the boys. This way, each one will find a weak spot in their opposite gender on how to take them down. "Now for you," Finnick turned towards Toby and I could see Mags was paying more attention now. "What are your skills?"

"I can make nets, throw knives and fish. But what if there are no fish in the arena? Then I'm only useful for two things," Toby answered. I really hoped the arena would be tropical. We'll definitely be able to use it to our advantage.

"Hm, if you can get to knives. But I'm sure you two will think of something yourselves. Right now, you should go eat something and head to bed. We'll be in the Capitol by morning," with a nod, Finnick and Mags left and headed to their rooms. Getting up, Toby and I walked into what we guessed was the dining room. There was food already served on silver platters on a wooden table. Place mats were of blue silk and had utensils to match. The chairs were wooden as well; perhaps mahogany. The cushion of them matched the place mats and seemed to have some sort of waves on them sew on with white thread. It feels like they dedicated this part of the train to district four because that's all I can see. Toby and I sit and eat, though there isn't much talking going on.

Wes joins us about half an hour later and goes on about to expect when we arrive. He mentions about the tribute parade and how we'll meet our stylists' prep team right after getting off from the train. I was a bit worried about meeting my stylist. Sure I had worn dresses back home but who knew what they'd make me wear there. Wes says one more thing before heading to bed. It was about training, interviews and how he was proud to be escorting us this year. You could see it in his eyes that he meant what he said. With a low bow, Wes left and headed off back to his room. A few minutes later, Toby did the same. I was left alone, staring at my food the entire time without eating. I finally decided to head to bed since I would need a bit more energy for tomorrow's events. Again, my room looked like it belonged in some room back home. With the blue and white waves, it kept making me more and more homesick.

At least the furniture wasn't blue too. It was mahogany like the chairs in the dining room. A dresser stood towards the left of the bed, which was placed in the center of the room. I opened a door to my left and discovered a bathroom behind it. It was obviously different from the ones back home. The shower had one button that I had only guessed turned on the water. I grabbed some fresh clothes from the dresser and decided to shower before I stayed up all night. After that, I proceeded to sit by the window that has _nicely_ taken up almost the entire wall. I hugged my knees to my chin and sighed. The promise I made to Derrick made me think it was more like an order. Did he think Toby wasn't going to come back at all?

A knock at my door startled me, but I didn't feel like getting up and seeing who it was. "Kai, are you awake?" Finnick's voice came from the other side. Dragging my feet to open the door from my comfortable position, I opened the door for my dear mentor. "Oh good, I wanted to talk to you about some strategies before you went to bed,"

"Shouldn't you talk about this with both Toby and I?" I asked, sitting back at the window.

"Mags is Toby's mentor, I'm yours," He's mine. It sounds really awkward when an attractive mentor says that to you. "Have you thought of one?"

"Not really. I was just thinking about how to keep Toby alive along enough to be one of the final few left," I answered.

"You made a promise, didn't you?" he asked, I nodded. "Sometimes, those promises can't come true in the arena. What if you get ambushed and he's taken down first? It'll be a big weight on your shoulders to looks after him and yourself, but not wrong. That's where the whole ally thing comes in. But in the end, alliances have to break in order for either to survive or you'll have to kill one another,"

"So how will I keep Toby alive long enough?" I asked, turning my gaze from the window to him. If I couldn't keep him alive, then what was the point of promising and thinking I could?

"Your instincts will kick in when it comes to him. But maybe tomorrow I'll tell you more on other strategies to take in," With that, Finnick got up from my bed and headed out the door. But of course not before saying one last thing. "Keeping him alive long enough won't seem like a job to you. It's something I'm sure you've done for a long time,"


	2. Preparation

I felt so exposed right now. The prep team, Avan, Petra and Coyne removed any visible hair on my body; excluding my head of course. Avan had bright blue hair with gray eyes. He was very skinny that it seemed his jaw was going to rip through his skin one day. Petra was petite with half blue and half pink colored hair. Just because she's small doesn't mean she should be underestimated. I felt like she was going to rip off my skin while she was doing the waxing. Coyne, with black hair and brown eyes, was the gentle one. While he was brushing out my hair, he began to say how he admired my dark mousey brown colored hair. I just always thought it was a brown color, nothing specific. He also said that for someone who spends a lot of time in the water, I haven't damaged my wavy hair. Once they were all done, they escorted me to a room with a sitting table and a small window. All the walls were painted white and I felt as if I had just entered an insane asylum room. Suddenly the door creaked open and in walked a man, probably a year or two older than Finnick, tall, slender, messy dark hair and bright blue eyes.

"Hello, I'm Sany and I'll be your stylist for the upcoming horrid events," he laughed. His teeth were so white; it could blind someone in an instant. At least he was making jokes to not make me worry so much.

"I'm Kai," I introduced myself. Sany nodded, pulling up a metallic chair I had missed when entering the room. "Are we going to be fishermen this year again?"

"Hell no, it's time for District Four to finally be something different than the usual stupid fishing costumes previous stylists made you wear. They were lazy so they chose the easy way out. I, on the other hand, want people to seem impressed by what you're wearing and help get you sponsors," Sany explained. Was he doing this for his own fame or did he really want me to come back out? I nodded, slightly narrowing my eyes at him. Chuckling, Sany then got up from his chair and sat on the table I was on. "I'm not doing this for my fame, though it would be nice. When I first laid eyes on you at the reaping, I knew there was compassion in you. The way you looked at the girl who held you back when your name was called, it showed me that you make sure others won't worry about you. By making a good impression out there, I'm going to help you come back out," he said softly, taking my hands into his. And for the first time, since the reaping, I cried. I'm pretty sure I cried so hard that even Sany became concerned. I expected him to tell me to suck it up. But instead, Sany just held me until I was finished.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, drying away the last tears I cried. He nodded, soothing my back as he crossed his legs on the table. "So what did you have in mind for our district this year?"

"I'm going to turn you into Amphitrite, and Toby will be Poseidon. So we better get going if we want enough time to transform you," Say smiled, getting off the table and pulling me off. I was worried about what was coming next? From pictures in books, Amphitrite was a mermaid type of Goddess and was nude. Was I going to be topless in front of all of Panem? I really hope not. We walked towards a room with a brown door and opened it to see my prep team laying out a sea blue dress on a table. "Are we ready to begin?"

"Yes, sir! We're just missing the lovely Kai to help us out," Avan grinned, pulling me towards the table, taking my robe off and slipping the dress onto me. It was a strapless dress that stopped at my knees, but continued in the back like a fishtail. Petra laced the back of the dress while Coyne helped me into a pair of sea blue colored pumps that had fishtail sequences on them. I looked towards the mirror and noticed that the corset part of the dress had fishtail sequences too. I was taken aback when it dawned on me that Petra had made my chest two times its normal size. I heard her cackle behind me and pulled a chair for me to sit.

"Don't worry, the heart shape corset is what makes them look bigger," she smiled, slowly pushing me onto the chair. I nodded, not really knowing what else to do. "For her hair, I think we should bring out her waves more and add some blue. Not too much or she'll look like a walking Popsicle,"

"Agreed, plus for the makeup, just some blue lipstick, gold eye shadows, fake lashes, black eyeliner and white gems around her eyes. It'll bring out her hazel eyes a lot more," Sany said, tilting my chin up and moving my head side to side. The team got to work, discussing on upcoming events they were planning on attending. Petra mentioned one about a fashion show dedicated to the tributes this year. Avan said he wanted to go to a banquet for upcoming artists and stylists. Coyne was excited for both the events Avan and Petra mentioned so they all agreed to go together. Once make up was done, they painted my nails a pearl white color and added two to three white gems on each finger.

"Nails are all done! Bring out the final piece, Coyne!" Avan called out to him. Coyne walked to a small table and opened its drawer. He walked back with a gold tiara that had a light blue veil attached to it each side of it. He gently placed it on my head and secured it from falling. "Just slip these rings on your fingers and you're all done," I did as I was told. The rings were connected to the veils from the tiara. I walked to the mirror, only to gasp at my appearance. I never once thought I would look like this in my entire life. Not even on my wedding day, if I was ever going to have one. I could hear my prep team sniffing behind me and nudging each other.

"Thank you," I turned towards them and smiled. They hugged me, careful not to ruin their hard work. Sany walked back into the room; I hadn't noticed he left. He nodded in approval to the team and they made their merry way out.

"Gorgeous and flawless like the sea," Sany smiled and twirled me around. "Now, let's go meet with your fellow partner and his stylist for the parade," Sany stuck out his arm to me and I wrapped mine around it. After what seemed like an eternity of walking towards the Avenue of Tributes, we reached our chariot. When I saw Toby, I wanted to roll on the floor laughing. He was wearing very skin tight shorts to a point where it seemed like if he did one wrong move, the entire country would see his business.

"Well, you at least look _comfortable_ in that dress," Toby laughed, looking down at the one piece of clothing he was wearing.

"It wasn't easy preparing for this look anyway. Though, I obviously can't say the same for you," I laughed back, covering my mouth to try to stop myself from laughing more.

"Alright little ones, get on and we'll be waiting for you when it's done," Toby's stylist said. She was about the same age as Sany, with blonde hair and purple contacts. She was slender and tall like him too. But maybe her heels added the extra height. Toby and I nodded, carefully getting into our chariots and waiting for them to be automatically pulled. Bright lights went on; signaling the parade was about to start. That's when I noticed Toby had fish scales drawn on his chest and partially on his face.

"At least you don't have a bad body," I joked. Toby laughed, bending down to pick up something on the chariot's floor. He brought back up a small crown and a trident. "You kept those in here?"

"Yeah, just in case we would forget them back in the dressing room and whatnot. Would you help me with the crown? I obviously can't properly see," I nodded, laughing a bit and trying to secure the crown on his head. When I was done, Toby moved his head around; making sure the crown would stay in place. "Everything looks good," he smiled, sighing and looking straight ahead for when our chariot will be pulled out. The chariot started moving a bit faster and the nerves hit me.

"Do we smile or just stand like statues like one and two?" I asked quickly as I because overwhelmed by all the camera flashes that were going off. But I didn't let it show on my face.

"Smile and wave," Toby said through his teeth, so I obliged. I waved and smiled to all the passing Capitol citizens and occasionally catching white and red roses being thrown towards me. I figured out that by doing this, it might get us some decent sponsors to survive long enough in the arena. Plus the training will be of good use in that too. We stopped in front of the podium where President Snow would address us and waited for the other seven chariots to join. I began to become fidgety, wanting to get away from this place. Looking around, I noticed a boy staring at me from my right. His dark brown hair was combed back for today and his green eyes were more of an olive color. He gave a smile and a nod before turning his head away. Maybe he was just being friendly since we'll probably be dead in two weeks. I turned my head towards Snow, who I hadn't noticed was making a speech about the games. Again and like always, I ignored them since I found it wasteful to listen to such words at a time like this. When he finished, our chariots moved again towards the left and I could see Sany and Toby's stylist waiting for us. I also managed to make out Finnick and Mags waiting with them as well.

"You did great, kid," Finnick smiled, giving me a hug and wrapping his arm around my shoulder.

"You'll definitely get some sponsors now," Sany grinned, having Mags and Toby's stylist nod in agreement. We stood there chatting a bit more before the boy from the parade came up to me.

"You looked lovely out there," he smiled.

"Thank you?" I said as a question. I hadn't meant for it to come out like that. But in a situation like this, how could I possibly know if he meant it or not.

"I really do mean it," he nodded his head. A woman, who I was guessing was his mentor, called out to him. From that, I learned his name was Jason. Excusing himself, Jason followed behind his mentor and entered the building where all the tributes, mentors, stylists and prep teams would be staying.

"Oooh, someone has the hots for you," Toby joked, nudging my side.

"Well, he sure has bad timing," I said. Finnick motioned us towards the building where Wes was already waiting for us. His light brown hair was combed back too and his dark suit somehow made him seem younger than what he already was.

"Each district stays on a floor according to their number. So you will obviously be staying on the fourth floor," Wes explained, letting us enter before him and then pressing the button to the fourth floor. I've never really been in an elevator. I always used the stairs and thought elevators were for the disabled, those carrying heavy packages and lazy people. Four dings later, we arrived at our floor and stepped out behind Wes. As I went to take another step, someone had stepped on the tail of my dress; making me lean backward and almost fall.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry," Finnick laughed and pushed me forward for some balance.

"Don't step on such a priceless dress, Odair! It took me months to design it!" Sany retorted, collecting the dress' tail and putting it into my arms. I chuckled, watching Sany walk away and hearing Finnick snort behind me. Wes signaled us to keep up and when we reach the living room, according to him, Toby and I stared in awe. The room was bigger than both our houses combined back in four. The walls were white, but had a gray metallic finish to them. In the center, was a glass table where we would eat our meals. The chairs were made of metal and matched the walls. If you kept walking, towards the right was a long, blue circular type couch sitting in front of a large flat screen television. Wes moved us towards a small hallway which had about three doors on each side. He said to pick any room and to open the door; all you have to do is press a button. At least it wasn't motion censored or else that would be ever weird.

"Alright my little fish get some rest. Tomorrow we have the day off and the day after is when training begins. It's okay to sleep in tomorrow but at least try to make it to one meal. Good night," Finnick said, waving at us as he entered a bedroom. Mags smiled and waved as well before disappearing. Then followed Toby, Wes, and our stylists. I pressed the button the door farthest back and entered the room. The wallpaper was red colored velvet and the carpet was black. I quickly took off my shoes and flung myself onto the bed. The cool yellow blankets were made of silk but the pillowcases were cotton. I didn't really mind at all since I didn't have this back home. I might as well enjoy it while it lasts. I grabbed some pajamas from the mahogany dress and went into the shower.

Once I freed myself from the dress, I felt as if I could fly. All I could see going down the drain was blues and yellows from the makeup and hair dye Petra put. Getting out, I felt like a new person and quickly got dressed. I still wanted to explore the room I was staying in, so I dug through all the drawers. It was just basically all clothes there, no little trinkets I could mess with. It wasn't until I crawled into bed that I noticed there was a remote on a nightstand. Being curious, I picked it up and pressed a button. The window in front of me somehow transformed into a screen and I watched as Capitol citizens walked among the streets. I pressed another button and the screen changed to some animals chasing each other. Bored, I tried one more button before actually falling asleep. Scenery of a beach and waves came on. I could suddenly hear the waves crashing and small the salty air the always made its way into my room. I felt completely relax and decided that with this, I would fall asleep in no time. And I did.

[Training]

"So we should show just one of our strengths? I think we should pretend we're good at something just to throw them off," Toby said the on the morning of training. Finnick was right, sleeping in was the best thing that could've happened to us. Wes mentioned that yesterday morning, he tried to wake us up but we stood in bed like the dead. He added the he found it rather amusing but let us have some good sleep before attending matters.

"If it's possible, yes," Finnick answered. I thought about it and it would actually work. But something else came to mind.

"What about for when they give us a score? Do we show our real strengths then?" I asked. Finnick shrugged, but then nodded in agreement.

"Let's hurry it up, please! We have half an hour to get ready to head down to the training center," Wes said, getting up from his seat and hauling two bags. "In here are your training uniforms. They have your district number on each arm. I'll leave your bag in your rooms," with that, Wes walked to the rooms and hurried back into the living room. Wes was making me even more nervous so I set my plate aside and went to get ready or training. Inside the bag was a black shirt and pants made of black spandex. On the sides of the pants and shirts, was a light blue thick colored stripe, also something that represented our district. They obviously wanted to make everyone an easy target in the arena. I got dressed, just in time to have Sany walk in.

"I'll just tie your hair up," he said and sat me down on the chair in front of the dresser. His words reminded me of when Safire tied my hair up for the reaping. "Alright, let's get you to the training center," he said when he finished. We walked to the elevator together and rode down with everyone else. My nerves were slowly starting to get the best of me as I felt myself shake. A hand squeezed my shoulder and I slightly turn my head to see Finnick giving me a reassuring smile. We finally reached lobby, we coherently walked towards the training center; which was conveniently just two buildings away from the building we were staying in. From the corner of my eye, I could see the colorful Capitol citizens waving at us. I ignored them and decided it was better not to really interact with them. Then again, they can be the reason I come out alive. It felt like an eternity walking towards the building and into it. But once was passing the second set of sliding doors, time seemed to be going slower than ever.

"Remember what we talked about," Finnick said, as Toby and I walked into the training room. Inside, the different stations were a couple of feet away from where the tributes would stand to hear rules, regulations and tips on surviving the arena. Toby and I took our place and waited for the head trainer to come out. My eyes darted around to look for Jason. I didn't know why, but I felt that making him an ally would be a good thing. At last, the trainer walked into the room, dressed in a nylon sweat suit.

"Good morning, tributes! My name is Kurt and welcome to your first of many training session for the next couple of days. We will teach you hand to hand combat, recognition of edible plants, insects and those that will kill you instantly. There will be different weapons for you to learn. Camouflage, tying and making traps, rope climbing, making fires and stealth are also being taught. Without further ado, you may go on ahead to your desired stations," he said, stepping off the small podium. I stayed close to Toby while the other tributes scattered off to different stations.

"Remember, show the weakest skill you have," I whispered to him. Toby nodded, heading over to the archery station while I headed to the camouflage station. For the rest of the training, the Jason boy didn't come up to me and I kept losing hope in wanting to make him an ally. We stayed to Finnick's advice about not showing our strengths for the remainder of the training. On the day before the interviews, we all had the private sessions in front of the game makers.

"Strength," was the only word Toby said to me as I got up to enter the private session. I nodded, with a small smile and walked down the long hall. A high score meant more and better sponsors. That too meant a higher chance at surviving longer in the arena. I wasn't sure on what to show them, but I was going more towards using knives and swords, if they had any in there. I entered a large room with different weapons and stations set up everywhere. The game makers were right ahead of me, sitting up on a balcony while drinking and eating away.

"Kai Rankin, District four," I said aloud as my eyes wandered to find my desired station; and there it was. Towards the far back of the room, was a station with swords and a couple of dummies.

"Alright Miss Rankin, what will you show us today?" Seneca Crane, head game maker asked and nodded. I walked towards the stations, hoping the small inch of fear didn't show on my face. The sword was laid in the center of the dummies that were surrounding it. As I walked over and took the sword in my hand, the dummies around me started moving and throwing knives. I used my hearing to quickly dodge one that passed right by my left ear. I began spinning the sword around, taking down incoming knives from wherever I could. When I had the opportunity, I cut off two of the dummies heads and went to the next.

This time they started moving faster and throwing the knives twice as much. I kept to spinning the sword around and using my hearing to dodge knives. I then realized that it was be better to cut off the arms or hands to end this session quicker. So that's what I did. After one dummy released the knives, I swung the sword towards them to cut the arms off. Finally, I had two dummies left but these now had swords too. Seriously, these game makers never made anything too easy once you figured out how to get around it. The first I managed to take down quick, but the last was built stronger and durable than the rest. It was too quick for my attacks and too strong for me to cut off the arms or head. I figured I had to attack below, so I swung the sword one last time and cut its legs off.

The machine stopped and everything went quiet. I looked over to the game makers nodding their heads to each other. "Thank you, Miss Rankin, you may go now," Crane said, gesturing his hand towards the door I came in through. I nodded, giving them a small bow and walking out and going back to my room. I hadn't noticed how fast I had fallen asleep because I woke up to my lovely mentor hitting me with a pillow.

"Wake up, Kai! It's time to view what score you got today!" Finnick yelled out. I moaned in annoyance and turned away from him. I heard him chuckle and he then somehow managed to lift me up and throw me on his back. He began heading towards the living room with everyone else. "I've got her!" he said, gently placing me on the couch next to Sany; whose lap I then laid my head on.

"Welcome to another year at the Hunger Games!" Caesar Flickerman's voice and face popped up on the television. This year, he had a violet lipstick on and his hair was dyed the same color. He went on about how tributes were scored and explained the ranging of the scores. I paid attention, but I mostly looked forward to our district and seven. "Kai Rankin," I sat up quickly to hearing my name. "A score of a ten," he said.

"Way to go, short stuff!" Finnick teased.

"I am not that short!" I laughed. Sany gave me a tight hug and Toby and I bumped fists to my score.

"Toby Roxon. A score of ten," Flickerman's voice said and moved on to the next district.

"I propose a toast to our lovely and strong tributes. May the rank high in the arena!" Toby's stylist, whose name was Sera, raised a glass and we followed along. "To Toby and Kai,"

"To Toby and Kai," everyone else chanted and drank.

"Jason Braun, a score of nine," I heard Flickerman's voice but I didn't look at the television. All I know is that he was skilled at something and I should find out what it is.

[Interview]

"Remember, just act like yourself and you'll be fine. Maybe throw in a few jokes here and there," Finnick said, dressed in a black suit, white collared shirt and with a small red handkerchief in his suit's upper pocket. "Good luck, short stuff,"

"Please welcome Kai Rankin from District four!" Flickerman called out and I hesitantly took my time to show. If Finnick hadn't given me a small push, I'd still be behind the curtain. Caesar extended his arm to me as I finally walked out onto the stage. The bright lights blinded me until I gained focus in my eyes to see where exactly I was going. Caesar began twirling me around and I could hear the crowd's deafening screams. "It's like her dress is made of waves!" He was right. Sany put me in a dress with ruffles of different shades of blue to make an illusion of waves. The top of the dress was corset like, just like the one I wore for the parade. It was a light blue with clear colored jewels places here and there. My blue heels were kept simple this time. Only special thing was that it was a blue velvet material.

Caesar sat me down on the chair next to him and began asking his questions. "So tell me Kai, what was it like when you heard your name being called out at the reaping?"

"It really surprised me. You know, I'm eighteen, I obviously hadn't been reaped before so I'm thinking 'Pfft, this is my last year to be eligible so what are the odds of getting picked?'" I laughed. "Of course the damn odds weren't in my favor and here I am now,"

"Isn't she the sweetest little thing you've ever seen?" Caesar grinned for the crowd who cheered.

"Why do people say I'm little?" I grinned, adding a laugh. "Just because I'm like 5'4" at eighteen, doesn't make me completely little! Just short!" I pouted and crossed my arms. The crowd awed as I smiled.

"You may be small, but not many small people score a ten on their training. Tell us, what exactly did you do there?" Caesar moved closer.

I smirked, knowing that I shouldn't give this one away. "I used one of my strongest skills and just did what I knew was going to keep me alive in the arena," I answered.

"And alive we all hope you stay and join us again when you get back," he took my hand and kissed it.

"I'll try my best to come back," I smiled with a nod before Caesar brought me to my feet.

"Kai Rankin everyone!" he said and twirled me around one last time before I headed backstage with Finnick, Mags and Sany.

"You were wonderful, dear," Mags said quietly, cupping my face with her hands. I thanked her and smiled. Even though Mags hadn't talked much to me, I knew she too wanted either Toby or I to come back.

"Gorgeous and flawless as usual," Sany grinned.

"It's all thanks to you," I said.

Alright, kiddies, time to watch Toby's interview," Finnick said and turned us towards the small TV that was hanging on the wall. So far, Toby was going great, answering questions here and there as if it came natural to him. But there was one question that made him hesitate.

"Do you have a girlfriend back home?" Caesar asked.

"Yes, I do. We've been together for two years now and hopefully it'll be longer," Toby answered.

"That's quite some time! Did you ever plan out your future far enough if you hadn't volunteered?" The crowd seemed anxious as to what Toby would answer. As for me, I was most likely feeling the same thing.

"Actually, yes, we were planning a future together but we got a head start at it," he said.

"What do you mean you got a head start at it?" Everyone, including us backstage, our families back home and basically all citizens of Panem were waiting for his answer.

Toby sighed and took a deep breath before answering. "My girlfriend is four months pregnant," Those six words made everything a thousand time more difficult for both of us.


	3. The Cove

Today was the day. Today was the day we finally go into the arena to kill each other off. Finnick walked with me to the hovercraft, not saying much. He must've known that I was too terrified to even think of anything to say. I hadn't seen Toby since we got back from the interview and made a plan on how to survive the bloodbath at the Cornucopia. I would run for some weapons, while Toby would run for supplies. Finnick and I finally reached the door that would lead outside to the hovercraft waiting to take me to the launch room.

"Listen, I know protecting Toby just got a lot harder for you because he's going to have a family. But remember, you can't fully sacrifice yourself to save him. Just keep him alive long enough and I'll be waiting for you when you get back," Finnick said, hugging me tight before he nodded towards the hovercraft. "Oh, wait," he said, pulling me back from my arm.

"You're going to make me late for my death," I laughed. Finnick lightly slapped my forehead and dug into his pocket.

"You know how you're allowed to have a token to remind you of home, so I decided to give you this," he said, taking his hand out of the pocket. He opened his hand; revealing a necklace with a fish charm attached to it. "I'll be waiting, little fish," Finnick said as he placed the necklace around my neck. I looked at the small fish closely and noticed that its eye was a sea green colored jewel. I hugged Finnick tight and felt him return the gesture. I let go and started heading towards the hovercraft again. I gave Finnick one last look before the peacekeepers escorted me inside. Finnick waved, and I watched him go back inside as I was shown to my seat. Knowing my luck, I was seated in front of Jason; who gave me a small smile before being injected with the tracker. Toby was far off towards the front of the ship, swinging his feet back and forth. When it was my turn, I was afraid of what it would feel like. Thankfully, it was only like a small pinch and it was over. I'm not sure how long we were in the hovercraft before everything went completely silent and we were asked to step off of our seats.

I had heard that hovercrafts were very silent and you can barely feel it moving; and they were right. The two peacekeepers escorted all twenty four tributes into another building; which contained the launch room. Inside, another two peacekeepers escorted each tribute to their own room where their stylist will be waiting for them. Luckily, mine wasn't too far towards the back. I entered another white room, similar to the one in the Recreation Center. Except in here there was a desk, a couch, a shower, some food and the launch pod to the arena. I sat on the couch and looked up to a clock setting on the desk to my right. There were ten minutes left before we had to enter the pod.

"Quick, change into this!" Sany barged in, throwing some type of suit at me. "They changed the arena at the last minute and just gave us these with some boots and a jacket. Now go change!" he said, shoving me into the small bathroom. I stripped from my cargo pants, white t-shirt and black boots. When I looked at the suit closer, I noticed that it was only pants. Sighing, I put them on, along with the white V-neck I had on. "Are you done?"

"Yes sir!" I called out; stepping back into the launch room and putting on the boots Sany passed me. "So are these pants for anything specific?"

"They'll keep you warm in cold weather and cool during hot weather, same with the jacket. The boots are good for running, climbing, swimming and breaking things like wood or someone's face," Sany laughed, adjusting the jacket on me once I had finished with the boots. "Nice necklace," he added, pointing to my chest.

"Thanks, Finnick gave it to me before I boarded the hovercraft," I explained, putting the necklace behind my shirt.

"You have one minute left," a woman's voice came from a speaker near the pod. The nerves kicked in like never before. Sany noticed, hugging me and rubbing my back that best that he could. "Thirty seconds," went the woman's voice again. Sany took my hair and tied it up in a bun instead of my usual ponytail.

"If I don't come back, I just want to say thank you for everything," I turned towards him with teary eyes.

"Don't say that, Kai. I'll be waiting for you at the recreation center when you get back. Good luck," he said softly, holding my hand until I stepped into the pod. The cylinder glass door shuts closed behind me. I turned to see Sany blow me a kiss and give me one of his smiles. A smile that meant he was sure we were going to see each other again. Startled by the pod that suddenly moved; I quickly wiped my eyes dry from any signs of tears forming. I could see the opening towards the arena above me. The sunlight blinded me and I slowly tried to get my eyes adjusted to the sight in front of me. This year, the arena was a cove. That meant there were caves, water and other things I knew how to survive off of.

In front of us was the giant Cornucopia with weapons and supplies. I gazed at it, trying to see which weapons were the best for me to take from where I was standing. My best bet was a bow and arrow directly in front of me. I noticed a small black bag next to it; which I guessed was a set of knives. The clock on the Cornucopia now read thirty seconds. My eyes wandered around until I found Toby about five people to my right. He nodded at me, signaling he was still going for the supplies. I nodded back; confirming my part of the plan. When the clock hit twenty seconds, an arm flew towards me. I hear screams as another loud explosion went off. I focused on what was happening on the arena already. One person jumped off their pod early and got blown into bits. From that, a girl was most likely hit with a body part and knocked off her pod too.

The boy from 11 was standing next to my pod and looked at me with a sad smile before jumping off his. "NO!" I screamed but it was too late. Everything began to shake around me and I felt some liquid fall onto my face. I knew what it was but I was more focused on not falling off my pod. Trying to keep my grip, a horn went off and everyone, including me, ran off our pods and towards the Cornucopia. I ran as fast as I could to get to the bow and arrow just in time. I kept low to the ground as the bloodbath commenced. I quickly put the arrows on my back and looked for other weapons. I noticed the small black bag I had been eyeing before and snatched it before anyone saw me. Opening it, I indeed saw that there were different types of knives in it. Next, I took the biggest risk of my life; I ran into the Cornucopia. I ran towards the far back of it to find a sword and a spear.

Just as I was about to grab them, something came from behind me and cut my face. I turned to see the girl from one, Valeria, grinning at me. She went for a second attack but I dodged it with my sword. Sany said these boots were good from breaking people's faces. Let's see how good they are against people's chests. I ran towards Valeria and raised my foot to kick her in the chest. Finnick was going to hate me for this, but I didn't plan on killing her just yet. As she fell to the ground, I took all her weapons and supplies and ran out of the Cornucopia. I was too focused on getting weapons that I had completely forgotten about Toby. I frantically looked around for him but kept running. That's when I saw him running in front of me, but he fell a second later. The boy from five, Raik, had tied his feet with a rope. Raik was going in for the kill when I took an arrow from my back, prepared the bow and launched it to the back of his head. Immediately, Raik fell to the floor and Toby escaped the trap. I gather all my weapons and few supplies and ran with Toby into the tropical forest and away from the death traps.

We ran for another twenty minutes or so until everything around us became calm. "Thanks for the help back there," he said, catching his breath as he leaned back on a tree. I grinned and nodded, leaning on my knees to get my breath back. "It that alright?" Toby asked, making a line on the left side of his face and I knew he was talking about my cut.

"Yeah, just a small cut from the girl from one. We should look for a place to sleep before it gets darker," I said and started walking deeper into the forest. We walked another twenty minutes before reaching a small cave and waterfall. "I guess this'll do for now," I said, carefully sliding down onto the stream and heading into the cave.

"Let's check what we managed to get," Toby sat and opened the three backpacks he managed to get. Opening the first backpack, Toby took out some rope, a canteen for water, a net, a sleeping bag, matches, and some dried food. In the second backpack, there were basically the same things, except this one had wire in it. And in the third, there was dried meat and fruits, medicine, crackers, a hammer and another sleeping bag. "What does yours have?"

I had forgotten about the small bag I took from Valeria in the Cornucopia. Opening the bag, I pour everything onto the ground and searched them. "There's a first aid kit with gauzes, bandages and some pain killers. There's a fire starter and pocket knives. So much for stealing this," I sighed, tossing everything back into the bag and setting it to my side. Toby laughed, taking out the sleeping bags and preparing them for our short naps that are to come.

"Oh shit," Toby jumped when the first cannon went off. _Two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. _Ten dead at the bloodbath and just fourteen of us remain. Deep inside, I was hoping Jason wasn't one of them. The boy was kind of growing on me even though I just knew his first name and district.

"Tomorrow, we should explore the arena. There's no point in staying here until there's so little of us," I said, getting into my sleeping bag.

Toby sighed, sliding into his sleeping bag as well. "Do you think I'm going to survive long enough here?" he asked, turning his face towards mine. I nodded. "Don't lie to me, Kai. Without you, I would've been dead at the Cornucopia already. I know my brother told you to keep me alive, but then you'd have to sacrifice yourself for me. I rather you go back home than me,"

"Shut up before I smack you. Yes, Derrick asked me to keep you alive, but I can only do so much. You survived on your own at the Cornucopia. I only killed one boy for you. You managed to escape everyone else while you were getting supplies. You have to go back to your-" The Capitol's anthem cut me off. Toby and I darted out of the sleeping bags and quietly walked past the small waterfall and looked into the night sky. The Capitol emblem shined and disappeared when faces of fallen tributes began to show. Both tributes from 3 were dead. The male tributes from 1 and 2 were gone too. Raik from 5, the girls from 6 and 7, and the boys from 8, 11 and 12 were shown. The anthem played again, along with the emblem before the sky went dark again.

I sighed, happy that Jason wasn't dead but worried that Valeria was still out there. "Let's go to sleep. We have a long day tomorrow and after that and after that," Toby tried lightening the mood. I gave him a small smile and crawled back into my sleeping bag. I knew I was only going to get about three hours or so of sleep. The paranoia was kicking in too soon.

[The Arena]

With the arena being a cove this year, Toby and I used it to our advantage. We were able to identify which plants were edible and not. I assumed three days went by and three cannons were fired. The girl from 8, the boy from 10 and the girl from 12 were now added to the list. I could tell the Capitol people were getting bored because I suddenly felt the ground beginning to shake. "Do you feel that?" I asked Toby.

"I do," he answered, looking around for what could be causing it. We then heard a loud explosion and a scream. That was followed by a cannon shot. Toby and I began running in the direction we were heading. With all the trees around, it was difficult to know exactly where we were going to end up at. The sounds of the explosions seemed to be getting closer to us the farther we tried to get away from them. Thankfully, none of our weapons were too heavy to carry around. Or else we would've dropped more than half of them about a few feet back. As quickly as they started, the explosions stopped and everything became quiet again. I jumped when we heard two more cannons go off.

"I guess we find out tonight who's gone this time," I said, walking at a slower pace to catch my breath. I kept a knife in my hand, just in case anyone or anything tried to be brave and attack us by surprise. Tributes were falling awfully too quickly compared to the other games. If they die too quickly, the Capitol citizens begin complaining and I'm sure Seneca Crane wouldn't want that right now.

[Finnick]

I was amazed at how fast this year's games were going. Sixteen of the tributes were already dead in a couple of days. It would've been eighteen if Toby and Kai hadn't been such fast runners. All I could keep thinking was _'Run, little fish, run!'_ when the mines went off. Haymitch had always told me not to get attached to my tributes, and I never did. Except for Annie. But now, I was getting attached to Kai and I could kind of figured why. She was a protector, like me. Kai would rather die protecting someone she cared for than have someone die for her.

"Finnick," I snapped back to reality when I heard my name. "Do you have any duties tonight?" Mags asked from her chair. When they felt like it, mentors would watch their tributes in a special room, kind of similar to the game makers' one. I shook my head at her and turned back to the screen. Toby and Kai reached the sea and were now fishing for food. Toby was right when he said Kai could catch a fish in one attempt with a spear.

"At least you have something to do. I have to stay here until these games are over," Johanna Mason, last year's victor said to me.

"Don't you have your boy still out there?" I asked, giving her a small smirk.

"Blight is his mentor. The stupid girl from my district got herself killed at the bloodbath. Not surprising actually. She got one of the lowest scores at the private sessions and kept complaining about how she was going to be victor. Yet the idiot was one of the first to die," Johanna sighed. I don't know why, but I found it amusing when Johanna degraded people. It was all for a good laugh.

"What about the boy? Do you think he'll survive longer?" She turned towards me at my question and nodded.

"Jason wants to be allies with your girl out there," she nudged her head at my screen with Kai displayed on it. That's why he complimented her after the parade; to get on her good side. "From what I've heard, she's fast, strong and can use weapons pretty well. Looks like he chose right,"

"Now let's see if she'll let him be allies with her," I said, spinning around in my chair. Johanna smirked at me one last time before returning next to Blight. I leaned back on my chair and looked at the screen. Kai and Toby were talking about something serious; by the looks on their faces. The arena had fallen dark and the anthem started playing. Both tributes from 9 were gone along with the girl from 11. The boy from 9 had gotten blown by a mine, while the girls from 9 and 11 were killed by the Valeria girl from 1. That girl was a nasty piece of work. Not to mention she partnered up with the girl from 2 after both the male tributes went down. I knew Valeria was looking for Kai because of the kick she gave her to the chest at the Cornucopia.

I just hope she doesn't find her anytime soon.

[Kai]

After the faces were gone from the sky, I began to relax a bit. But what got my nerves worked up was that Valeria just wasn't dead yet. I didn't seem too surprised since she was from a career district and knew how to brutally kill people.

"Hey Kai," Toby broke my train of thought. "I'm scared,"

I arched my eyebrow at him. "Don't worry, at the rate the others are dying, you'll be back home soon,"

"I wasn't talking about the games, Kai," he retorted. "I'm scared that I won't go back home to see my daughter being born or be part of her life. I'm scared that if I do go back home, I won't be a good enough father to her," I stood quiet. There was nothing I could say to him to make it seem all better. Those words didn't exist to me. It sounded like he didn't want to go back home, but at the same time he did. With my legs stretched out, Toby went ahead and laid his head on my lap. I didn't mind; he's been doing this since we were little.

"I'll take the first shift tonight," I said, stroking his dirty blonde hair to help him fall asleep. After the first night in the arena, we've been taking turns on keeping watch. If we were both asleep, we would've been killed easily.

"Kai, would you sing that song our moms used to sing to us from that old movie? You know, the one that mentions something about December," he said. I nodded, knowing exactly what song he was talking about.

_Dancing bears__, __Painted wings__  
><em>_Things I almost remember, __  
><em>_and a song someone sings__  
><em>_once upon a December_

As I sang, I could hear Toby's breath becoming calm. Our mothers would sing this song to us on Christmas when we didn't want to fall asleep yet. I kept singing until I was fully sure he had fallen asleep. At this point, I didn't want to go back home anymore. I just want Toby to go back to see his daughter and hold her when she was born. Of course, the Capitol doesn't care for all this and just want twenty-four kids to kill each other for their entertainment. They didn't care if you had families back home or were going to start one. They just wanted a show and place bets. A show, it's what we'll always be to them.

A few more days passed by and only one cannon was shot. The boy from 6 was now dead. I still made the assumption that Valeria was clearing out the boys in order to just have the girls around for an easier kill. I was sure she was leaving me for last. But if my assumption was correct, I had to keep Toby closer to me. We walked to a small place surrounded by tall trees and a river. I sharpened my spear to get us some food while Toby went off to fill the canteens with water. I explained my theory to him and promised to stay close if anyone popped out. Half an hour had passed by and I only managed to get four fish. The river obviously wasn't a good source of food here. Giving up and telling myself that this would do for now, I place the fish in the net Toby found in one of his backpacks and headed towards him. That's when I saw her.

The girl from 2 was going to kill Toby.

"Toby, watch out!" I screamed at him. The girl charged, knife in her hand and face determined. He quickly turned, but the sudden thought didn't let him move. With no weapon on me, I couldn't attack her. I'd only be good for getting Toby out the way. I ran, as fast as I did at the Cornucopia and the mines, towards Toby and pushed him. I felt a large sharp pain course all through my right side as I screamed from the impact. I hit the floor with a thud, landing on my back.

"You fucking idiot!" the girl yelled at me, her dark eyes burning holes through me. "Since I couldn't get your little friend, how about I get you instead?" she said, taking a rock and hovering it over my head. This was it. This was going to be the end of me. Toby couldn't do anything because I made him promise not to help if I was being attacked. The boy was probably scared to death witnessing his brother's best friend about to be killed by a fucking rock. Just as I prepared myself for the hit, the girl was suddenly pushed back, dropping the rock. I quickly rolled onto my side, but that was a huge mistake. I had made the blade go in deeper into my side.

"Toby, I told you not to help!" I called out to him as loud as I could. I heard footsteps emerging my way and a large shadow to follow.

"I wasn't me!" Toby finally responded. A cannon suddenly went off and I had guessed it was the girl from 2. Something or someone slowly rolled me onto my back but I couldn't make out their face. I looked towards my left and saw that the girl had an ax in their back. Toby was standing over her, pulling the ax out and bringing it towards where I was laying. "You might want this back,"

I turned my head back towards the person kneeling next to me and I finally made out their face. "You sure know how to make things interesting," he laughed. That voice, that hair, and those olive green eyes. I knew exactly who it was.

Jason Braun had saved my life.


	4. Goodbye

I can see the girl from one setting up her trap in the trees. Bryce is walking along, like if he was back in District 6 with his mother. He had let his guard down around this section of the arena. I was watching the 65th Hunger Games in a front row seat. By the time Bryce was five feet away from the trap; the girl had finished it and had hid up in a tree. I ran towards Bryce to try and stop him, but every time I had tried to grab his arm, my hand just went through it. As he took his next step, something clicked. He had set the trap loose. I knew I wouldn't be able to move him, but I kept trying. I felt myself crying as five poisonous darts flew through me and injected themselves into Bryce's side. I watched as my brother fell to the ground and his life being sucked out of him. A few moments later, his cannon went off and I started drifting away from him.

My eyes jolted open to realize I found myself in close to complete darkness. The ground was cold and wet, which only made me guess that we were in another cave. I started sitting up but a large pain shot through me. I groaned loudly, pressing my hand onto my right hip to try and ease the pain. "Look who's finally up," someone said with a laugh. I looked up to see Toby and Jason sitting around a fire. I immediately freaked out.

"Put that out! Do you want us to be easy targets?" I yelled to them. I tried getting up but fell back down on my butt. Was this injury so bad?

"Relax, Kai. We've had this fire every night since you passed out from blood loss. I've changed your bandages a couple of times since then," Jason said, passing me a fried fish and piece of bread. With its green tint, I knew it had to be from our district.

"How long have I been out for?" I asked, taking a bite of the fish. Wait, he changed my bandages twice? "How dare you touch me?" I laughed, throwing a piece of bread at him. Jason shrugged, catching the bread in his hand and eating it.

"Two days," Toby answered. "But you didn't miss much. Just one cannon went off yesterday and it was the girl from 10. But on the bright side of things, Jason and I were discussing girl baby names. Care to join?" he smiled, uncrossing his legs and extending his hands to me. Once I grabbed them, he slowly pulled me up to my feet. I took baby steps towards the fire and Jason let me use his shoulder for support to sit back down.

Finally getting comfortable, I let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, so what do you have so far?" I asked.

"Well, we had Zoe, Emma, Sara, Mary and Ella so far. But Toby wanted a name you both can agree on together," Jason answered. We _both_ should agree on? I don't think I should have a say as to what Toby wanted to name his daughter.

"Why do I have to agree to the name too?" I tried stretching out my legs, but couldn't completely stretch out my right one because of the cut. Why hasn't this damn thing healed a bit?

"Because if I don't make it out alive, I want you to help raise her. You'll be her protector, just like you're mine," he said. I sighed and nodded. There was no point in arguing with Toby about this. Alive or not, he would want me to help him take care of his daughter. Along with everyone else back home.

"Okay, so how about Anna?" I said. Toby shook his head and said it was too common. "Paige? Penelope?" Denied. "Mariah? Evelyn?" Tobes shook his head again and sighed. Then, I remembered a story my dad read to me when I was a little girl. It was about how a group of people who lived in a Spanish speaking place, wandered around a mountain range for days, looking for any other sign of civilization. "How about Sierra?"

Toby thought about it for a moment before nodding his head. "I like it. I think I'll go with that one," he said. "I'm sure the cameras captured this moment just in case," he laughed. I rolled my eyes at him and looked away, all in good spirits though. Toby went on to say how while I was asleep, he received a parachute from Mags which contained the bread. Jason had gotten some type of cream that treated cuts. That explained why the one on my face was now gone. It was him who killed the girl from district five while he went out to refill his canteen with water. I too had gotten a parachute. Finnick sent me bandages for my cut. But it obviously wasn't enough since Jason kept changing my bandages. I felt my shirt slowly being lifted and I moved away Jason's hand.

"What are you doing?" I asked, keeping his hand in mine.

"Your bandage is bleeding through again. I have to change it. Just lay down and I'll go get the stuff," he said, eyeing his hand in mine. I let go and lay down as he told me to. I lifted my shirt just below my breasts and slowly lowered my body back onto the cold floor. I don't know how I hadn't noticed before but my jacket was missing. Toby said he took it off when Jason was wrapping the bandages around me and that he was the most skilled with healing.

"How did you learn about healing and such things?" I asked as Jason went ahead and unwrapped the bloody bandages.

"My dad and sister are healers back in 7. I tried learning from them little by little, just in case I was reaped and had to treat my own injuries. But seems like I have to treat someone else's," he grinned, pressing a gauze to my hip as I winced. "If I make it back, I'm going to get so much shit for helping you stay alive,"

"The price of fame and glory, deal with it," I laughed, slowly lifting myself for the wrapping of the bandages. Toby had asked if I was going to finish my food and I shook my head. I really didn't have an appetite to begin with.

Jason passed me a painkiller for my side and my canteen he filled up. "These should cut down the pain a bit. We'll need something stronger if it's going to completely go away,"

"Or I can just die from an infection, no big deal," I said, swallowing the pill with some water.

"You really are a piece of work, aren't you?" Jason smirked and I nodded. Might as well enjoy my last moments alive with bad humor. After numerous attempts at making me eat, Toby gave up and placed the fish over the open fire. And just like that, a roaring sound came from outside as Claudius Templesmith's voice began an announcement.

"Tributes, I invite you all to the famous Cornucopia feast! But before any of you can deny my invitation, there's something there you all need in order to move forward. Or maybe even make it till tomorrow morning. So think over my invitation and may the odds be ever in your favor!" he said and everything went quiet again. We all looked at each other, starting to format a plan.

"I think Toby and I should go while you stay here," Jason said, getting to his feet.

"Over my dead body I will!" I protested, getting on my knees and using the walls for support. If I had used Jason, he would've pushed me back down to the ground and demanded I stayed. But I honestly couldn't stop my legs from shaking while trying to get up. The entire blood loss had made me extremely weak.

"Exactly! You go out there; you might as well throw yourself in front of Valeria. We'll just go get what we need and run back. If all the remaining tributes go, no one will come looking for you. Plus, you can't even walk properly yet to even make it outside. Just stay here and we'll be back soon," Toby set me back down. I sighed in frustration, not wanting to stay in a cave all by myself for who knows how long.

"Fine, go," I said and shooed them away. I knew they were right, but I was too stubborn to admit it.

"We'll leave the bow and arrow with you just in case. Just don't go out there and set yourself up for a trap," Jason said, kneeling next to me and ruffling my hair. I nodded, taking my necklace and playing around with it in my hands. Watching as Jason and Toby left, I began coming up with a small plan in my head. I would wait until they were about five minutes ahead to walk out and head towards the Cornucopia. Even if I can't fight, I can at least try to injure their opponent from a distance. Grabbing onto the rocks on the wall, I slowly picked myself up. My legs were still weak, but a bit stronger since I woke up. Placing the bag of arrows over my shoulder and taking the bow in my hand, I slowly and carefully made my way out of the cave. The only problem now, where was the Cornucopia towards?

I made my way towards the forest, hoping to find at least something that'll let me know which way the Cornucopia was. Walking towards a path that looked like a pathway to me, I saw something tied onto a small branch. It was a piece of cloth with an arrow drawn on it. _Toby_. He would be the only one to leave me a clue towards the feast. Derrick must've told him how stubborn I can be and not follow rules too well. I took down the cloth, not wanting to leave any evidence and looked which way the arrow was pointing. I kept walking straight forward, trying my best to not make too much sound. It but was hard since my right leg could only go up so high.

As I inched closer in the direction Toby left for me, everything was becoming quieter. Was that even possible here? Finally, just ahead, I could see the Cornucopia. I got on my knees and crawled towards some bushes to hide from view. There were four backpacks in a color to represent each district, plus our district number on them. The one for one was a magenta color. For us, it was the usual light blue. For five, it was silver. And for seven, it was green. I gazed around to find someone else around, but no one was in sight. It wasn't until the girl from five, jumped out of the forest and ran towards the Cornucopia. That's when Valeria jumped out, running behind the girl and catching up to her. Valeria grabbed the girl from her blonde hair and slit her throat with a machete.

I watched, horrified as the girl from five fell to the ground. Her cannon instantly went off as Valeria went towards the table and grabbed her backpack. She stayed there, obviously still waiting for the other tributes to arrive. I inched a bit closer, staying out of sight but just enough for an arrow to reach her. But just as I was going to shoot, Jason and Toby ran out of the forest and towards the Cornucopia. Valeria jumped, readying herself with the machete to strike. Toby threw a knife at her, only to miss but give her a cut on her arm. With the small distraction, Jason ran to the Cornucopia, taking both our backpacks and shoving them to Toby. Toby ran back towards the forest, with Jason following behind him. But Valeria had regained herself and threw the knife at Jason; jabbing him in the leg.

Falling, he groaned in pain and I took this as I my chance to strike. But just as I was going to fire, Toby took Jason's axe and ran towards Valeria. Jason slowly got up and crawled towards where Toby dropped the backpacks. Valeria charged towards him, machete ready to slice any part of him she could. She went to strike, but only to have the ax's blade block the attack. I aimed the arrow at her head, ready to fire. But with Toby and Valeria fighting all over the place, it was hard to keep up. Jason had gotten on his feet by now, tossing the backpacks to my left.

"I thought we told you to stay at the cave!" he hissed, not too loud to give away my location.

"If I did, you two would be dead right now! Don't give me any of this shit because I'm not the one who got jabbed in the leg!" I retorted, still trying to keep aim.

"Yeah, but at least I can walk with a cut on my leg! You can't even stand up on your own!" he stared down at me. At his words, I got on my feet and proved him wrong. "You still won't be able to properly fight if you had the chance,"

"Good, then I'll be an easy kill for you," I said, turning away from him and bringing my attention back to Valeria and Toby. Toby managed to cut Valeria on her thigh. She was going for another strike toward him, when I finally released an arrow, stabbing her in the left arm. "Run, Toby!" I yelled out to him. His head turned quickly, hearing my voice and running towards Jason and I. Valeria's agonizing screams startled me and I fired another arrow. This time, it hit her in the injured leg and making her fall to the ground. In no time, Toby reached us, threw our backpack on my back, lifting me to his and began to running again. Jason's cut was apparently not too bad that he still had strength in him to run. With his own backpack on his back, he trailed behind us, limping here and there to recover a bit.

"Wow, you really don't listen to what you're told," Toby laughed, running through the trees as we got closer to the cave. I nodded, sinking my head into the crook of his neck from the pain being caused by my side. I can feel the blood flowing down onto the hipline of my pants. This cut was slowly killing me and I could feel it. "I wanted to ask, what happened to the spear you had when we were attacked by the girl from two?" I chuckled. In that moment, I had completely forgotten about the spear. I could've easily thrown it at her, without getting an injury. I explained how my only thought was for him not to get hurt and that the spear could only do so much from a distance. When I looked back up, we were finally at the cave. Gently setting me down, Toby took the backpack from me and opened it. "These bandages seem more durable than the others. I'll ask Jason to clean you up,"

"I don't think he'd want to do it since I left the cave," I sighed, but started groaning from the pain. I should've listened to them. But if I didn't, either of them would be dead right now and so would I.

"Rather you go home than me," Jason approached us and pushed me to the ground. I didn't feel like arguing, so I untied the bloody bandage and tossed it aside. I winced every time Jason cleaned the wound and put pressure on it. The medicines included with the bandages seem to work fast. Instantly, I could feel the wound slowly closing and I began breathing normally. This time, Jason stood me up to put the bandages on faster and more secure. "That should do it. I think it'll heal a lot faster now,"

"Thanks," I smiled at him. "What about your leg? Aren't you going to heal it?" I asked, looking down at it as his blood continued to roll towards his ankle. Jason shrugged; not caring if it healed or not. "I can try to end it for you,"

"Only if I tell you what to do," he answered with a smirk. I nodded, sitting him down on the floor as Toby passed me the bandages and ointment Jason had put on my side. "Okay, first you have to cut the leg of my pants off to get to the cut faster," he said.

"Okay," I sighed, looking around for a knife. "Tobes, where's the knife you had earlier?" I asked him.

"Oh, you mean this one?" came a different voice. It was her. Valeria had survived the two arrows I shot at her. I stood up, looking at Valeria in the eyes as she aimed the knife at me. I pushed Toby out the way; I wasn't going to let her hurt him again. "Maybe this time, you'll actually die!" she yelled before throwing the knife. I stood my ground, preparing myself for the impact; just like the one from the girl from two. As the knife inched closer to me, I was pushed out if the way.

Toby took the knife to his chest.

"Why can't you two just let me fucking kill her already!" Valeria screamed, getting her machete and walking towards us. I quickly got to my feet, carefully taking the knife out of Toby's chest and making sure he was still breathing.

"You're such an idiot," I said to him, feeling the tears coming out of my eyes.

"I know, but don't worry about me, I'll be alright. Just fucking kill her already," he breathed. I nodded, running towards Jason and bringing him to Toby.

"I don't care what you do; just keep him alive and away from her!" I sternly said to him.

"What about you?" he asked.

"I'm going to end this," I answered, grabbing his ax and walking towards Valeria. "I'm the one you want, so come get me," I called out to her. Her smirk showed she was determined to end my life. But I wasn't going to be an easy fight for her. Valeria charged and I raced towards her. Out blades hit each other; making a sound that would be irritable to anyone's ears. I tore away from her, not wanting to make anything too easy for Valeria. She charged again, this time aiming for my legs. It brought back to my private session with the swords, knives and dummies. I didn't know it was going to come in handy until now. I jumped away from the blade and kicked her face. Valeria fell back in agony. I took a quick look towards Jason and Toby. Jason's hands were covered in so much blood; it could pass for his skin color. Toby can't die; he just had to go back home. I could hear Valeria coming towards me again, but it turned back towards her too late and her blade cut my arm.

"You're making this too easy for me!" she laughed. At that point, I was losing it and just wanted her to die.

"Am I?" I asked, swinging my ax at her. "Or maybe I'm just having fun with you until you're too weak to fight for yourself," I added, taking another swing and grazing her injured thigh.

"Is that all you've got?" she said, swinging her machete at me. I dodge it; surprising her.

"No, I'm just getting started," I said, still walking towards her. I swung the ax at her, knocking the machete out of her hand. "That's for the cut to my face at the bloodbath," I took another swing towards her other thigh. "That's for injuring Jason's leg at the feast," My third swing went towards her left arm. "That's for hurting Toby just now," I could see it; the flicker of fear in her eyes. They were practically begging me not to kill her. "This one's for if Toby dies. I'm sure you'll have a nice afterlife," I said emotionlessly as I took my last swing. This time, I aimed at her head. I looked as I decapitated the girl. In all my eighteen years, never would I have thought I'd kill someone in such a gruesome way. Her head fell and rolled towards the water as her body hit the ground with a quiet thud. Her cannon then went off. That's when it started to sink in. I looked at the ax in my hand and tossed it away. I began breathing heavily as I began to realize what I had done.

"Kai! KAI!" Jason screamed my name. I turned around too quickly, feeling as if my head was about to snap off my body. He shook his head at me and looked down. Panicking, I ran towards Toby and cupped his face in my hands.

"Kai, seriously stop worrying about me," he cough, blooding spilling out of his mouth.

"You promised to never help me when I was fighting. I was supposed to bring you back home. You need to go back home," I cried, watching as my tears hit his face. My fingers swam through his dirty blonde hair, just like the night I sang him to sleep.

"Some promises have to break to protect the people we care about. But you're the one going home now. And you," he turned towards Jason. "You make sure she goes home. She has many stories to tell Sierra," he laughed softly. Jason nodded. "Before I forget, take this and tell Lex that I'm sorry. Tell my parents, Derrick and my daughter that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all the things I'm going to miss out on," he breathed, passing me a small black box. I guessed it was his token. I wasn't going to open it nor did I ever want to. "Promise you'll look after the baby until she starts asking about me. But don't tell her what really happened until she's older,"

"I promise," I choked on my words and watched as his bright green eyes began losing their color. I brought his head up to my chest, holding him dear for one last time. I have never been so afraid to let go of someone before. Jason stood up, kneeling next to me as Toby grabbed his hand.

"Kai, I love you and thank you," Toby breathed in one last time. "For everything," Just like that, Toby's chest stopped moving. Then his cannon went off and I lost it. I cried harder and louder this time. I even began to scream and I could feel Jason arms around me, trying to calm me down. But I was still hugging Toby's body.

"Kai, you have to let go," he said, attempting to pull me off of Toby. I shook my head and tried to push him away instead. "Kai, let go!" Jason yanked me off. He held me back as I tried crawling back to Toby's body. But Jason was too strong for me. He dragged me back towards the cave as the hovercraft arrived and took Valeria's and Toby's body away. I stuck my head between my legs and began rocking back and forth. "Come on, let's get you home," Jason said, walking back towards the water and retrieving the bow and arrow I've used. He pulled me to my feet, placing the bow and an arrow in either hand. "Alright, make it quick,"

I looked at my hands and then at him. "What?" I asked. Did he really want me to kill him?

"You heard me. Shoot an arrow at me already!" he yelled, standing about five feet from me. I shook my head, dropping my weapon to the ground. "Kai, I promised Toby that I would get you home! Now hurry up and kill me!" he yelled; the anger obvious in his voice.

"I don't want to go home anymore," I said. Jason came marching towards me. I suspected he was going to kill me instead so I looked down.

"You just promised him you'd go back and help raise his child. You can't give up just like that! Now take the bow and arrow and kill me," he said, picking the weapon off the ground and placing them in my hand again.

"You don't get it, do you? If I go home, how am I supposed to tell his daughter that he died protecting me? I was supposed to die protecting him. But all I got from that was fucking stabbed in my side. How am I going to tell her all that?" I yelled at him. Jason's eyes were now soft. Maybe now he'd understand why I couldn't just kill someone for my own glory. Though I think Valeria didn't count in this situation.

"I'm sorry, but he wants you to go back. I'm just doing what I promised and you should too," he said.

"Okay, I'll do it," I sighed, readying the arrow.

"Can I just do one last thing?" he asked; I nodded. I didn't know what could be so important that he'd want to do before he died. But just as I wanted to ask, Jason cupped my face in his hands and kissed me. His lips were soft, but he soon moved away and I missed the feeling.

"You just made this so much harder," I said, looking away from him.

"I know, and I'm sorry. But I didn't want to die without knowing what it was like to kiss someone. But I'm glad you were my first kiss," I looked back at him as he gave me a sad smile. I nodded, beginning to aim at him. "Okay, let's get this over with," he added, repositioning himself five feet away from me again. I positioned the arrow on the nocking point and pulled the string back. Jason closed his eyes as I was ready to go.

But then a loud voice scared me and I accidentally let go with the arrow heading towards Jason's chest.


	5. Victors

Jason's expression was horror. He had jumped out of the way just in time to dodge the arrow I released. I dropped the bow and ran to him. I scared myself to think I might have killed him. Dropping myself next to him, I hugged him tightly as Templesmith's voice boomed again.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the victors of the 72nd Hunger Games! Kai Rankin from District Four and Jason Braun from District Seven!" he said. Jason hugged me back tightly. Getting to his knees then feet, he lifted me up with him. I buried my face into his chest, with my arms still wrapped around him.

"Shh, we're going home now," he whispered, rubbing my back like Sany did when I first met him. I nodded, feeling the winding gushing and knowing our hovercraft had arrived. When it landed, two peacekeepers motioned us towards it. Jason and I walked together, his arms around my shoulder as I helped him walk from the leg injury. As we entered, the peacekeepers hurried us in and dragged us apart. "Wait, no! Kai! Kai!" I turned to see Jason trying to get to me. Nurses were pulling him towards a gurney, strapping him down too.

"I'll be okay," I called out to him as I too was set on a gurney. As they pushed me away, all the bright white lights were blinding me, so I closed my eyes. When the gurney stopped moving, I opened my eyes to find myself in an operation room. The nurses set me on the floor and stripped me of my clothing, only to make me dress in a thin gown. They told me to lie down on the operation bed as they then inserted an anesthesia needle into my hand. Slowly, everything around me was becoming blurry as another bright light was place over my face and then everything went dark.

* * *

><p>I moved around in something soft and warm. It obviously couldn't have been the hospital bed because so many tubes would've been injected into me. I opened my eyes, recognizing the place immediately. I was back in my room where the tributes stayed before the games. I looked down to see myself clothed in a plain black shirt and gray sweatpants. Getting up, I grabbed onto anything I could seeing as my legs were still a bit weak from not walking so much. I walked out of the room and towards the living room. At the dining table, I saw Finnick, Mags, Sany, Jason and both his mentors eating dinner.<p>

Sany gasped. "My princess is up!" he said, getting out of his seat and running towards me. I smiled, welcoming him with open arms as he spun me around. "I knew I'd see you again," I nodded, getting back down on my feet. Mags then came over to congratulate me and gave me a light sweater to wear. Lastly, it was Finnick. He stood up from his chair but stayed by it, opening his arms. I ran towards him and jumped as he caught me. I hid my face into his shoulder and quietly started to cry.

"It's okay, little fish, it's okay," he whispered setting me back on the floor and wiping my tears away. "No one's going to hate you back home. It was a sudden thing, they'll understand," he added. I nodded and went ahead and sat at the table between Finnick and Sany. Jason was right in front of me and I gave him a small wave. He smiled, returning the wave. "Kai, this is Johanna and Blight, they were Jason's mentors," he gestured to a girl, maybe a year younger than I and an older man.

"So you're the one who kept giving Finnick a hard time? He's obviously cared a tribute way too much again," Johanna smirked, receiving a kick from Finnick under the table. She glared at him, vicious like the way she was towards the end of the games last year.

"I didn't know I was a handful," I shrugged, eating a bit of the food that an avox had served me. "But Jason did say I was a piece of work," I smirked towards him.

"That's because you _really_ are a piece of work," he smirked back. I laughed, rolling my eyes at him. We finished the rest of the meal with idle chit chat here and there. Sany mentioned our victor interview was tomorrow afternoon and that I'd have to try on some dresses for that. I just hope they weren't flashy like the ones for the tribute parade and interview before the games. Once dinner was done, Jason stayed on our floor and watched some television with Finnick. Sany dragged me into my room for a fitting.

"I think this time we'll do something more calming. I think this off white laced dress will be nice. But I still have a few more for you to try on. In the end, you'll choose which one you like best," he smiled, laying out the rest of the dresses on my bed. There were four dresses in total. The off-white Sany said I should wear. Then it was a sleeveless blue silky one with a skinny brown belt in the middle. Followed by a white strapless dress with a floral pattern on it. I automatically told him that dress was coming nowhere near me.

Sany laughed, nodding in agreement. He explained that variety was good, but sometimes not all of it was. Lastly, was a peach dress made of silk and cotton with tiny white polka dots. With the blue and strapless dresses not really being an option, I had trouble deciding which of the other two to wear. "I think I'll go with the off-white one," I said, picking it up from the bed and walking into the bathroom to change.

"Good! I think I'll have to make a few alterations to it. You look like a walking stick since you came out of the games!" he called out. Sany was right. Even though Toby and I were feeding off fish and some dried fruit, we were still actively moving around and plenty of our body fat was gone. It freaked me out a bit looking in the mirror now. But hopefully when I get back home, I can get some fat on me.

"It's really loose from the waist," I said, walking out and tugging the dress' back.

"I'll just pin it and adjust it after the fitting," he said, adjusting the dress back. "It's going to be a bit loose, don't want it to rip while you're moving," Sany laughed.

"It'll be one hell of a show if it did," I grinned. "Hey Sany, will I be able to keep this dress? You know, after the interview?" I asked, turning to him when I felt the tugging end. He smiled; one of those smiles he gave me in the launch room.

"I would love that," he nodded, then telling me to get back into my other clothes. "Get some sleep! We have a long day tomorrow!" he called out.

I sighed in annoyance. "I was dreading that!" I changed back into my shirt and sweats. Walking out, I threw myself back onto my bed and stared at the ceiling. There was no point in me going to sleep if I just woke up. Being alone in this big room freaked me out a bit. I decided to make the wall into an ocean scenery like the first night I spent here. I kept pressing the gray button the on black remote until the familiar sound of seagulls filled my ears. I stared into the view, knees at my chin and strongly wishing I could be back in the waves and scare my parents by pretending I was dead in them. I missed the girl conversations with Safire and the torture it would put on Derrick.

"I'm guessing you can see this from your window back in four?" I jumped at their sudden voice. Jason was standing by my door with his hands in his pockets. He looked perfect. Perfect as in all the cuts and bruises were gone from his body. He walked over to me and I noticed he was limping a bit.

But I managed to nod at his question. "At least you have a small limp," I said, patting the spot next to me. Jason was wearing the same things as me. Except his shirt was another white V-neck. He shrugged, setting himself down and laying his head on my lap.

"I can deal with the limp, it's the recurring nightmares that worry me," he sighed as I played with his dark hair. Now that I think of it, I didn't recall having nightmares about the games. The nightmares I had been usually about Bryce, and now I'm sure Toby would be included. "I dream about what it would be like to die and not go back home. How would my parents and sister deal with it all? Other times, I dream that the tributes I killed are after me for revenge and I can never out run them,"

I didn't know what to say. What exactly can you say to someone who has been traumatized by something other people placed upon them? "They said I can stay here over night. But it was either Toby's old room or the couch. I was hoping your room was a third option," he continued.

I laughed, lowly. "Why my room? Will you be able to fall asleep to waves crashing and seagulls?"

"I can try," Jason smiled. I nodded, pointing to the cushioned seats that were aligned to the window. I walked over to the dresser, and took out a blanket and a pillow. Finnick had told me about extras just in case we wanted more pillows or blankets. "At least here, I won't be so lonely," he added, taking the pillow and blanket from me.

"I'll be just a few feet away," I smiled, getting back into my bed.

"I meant to ask, but what was in the box Toby gave you?" Jason pointed to the little black square on my dresser. I shrugged. I never intended to open it or even know what was inside. Toby told me to give it to Lex, and that was what I was going to do. "Maybe you should take a peek," I bit my lower lip and took the box into my hands.

"I feel like I'm invading their privacy by looking inside," I said. Jason walked over and sat down next to me. With his hand on my knee, he gave it a light squeeze. Taking a deep breath, I slowly opened it. There was a diamond ring inside. "He was going to propose," I sighed. I examined the small box a put more to find a small tab under it. I pulled it and a small gold bracelet fell out.

"I'm guessing that's for the baby," Jason leaned onto his knees. I nodded, putting the bracelet back into the small trap and setting it back on the night stand. "Well that was depressing, good night," he chuckled and headed back to the window. I laughed at his attempt to lighten the mood. But he did it for all good reasons. Jason knew I would probably get all emotional about this so he rather not say anything to feed that state.

"Good night," I repeated after him and tucked myself in. About an hour had passed ad Jason was snoring away. Meanwhile, I was tossing and turning; trying to get some sleep. It was completely useless. So I used the counting sheep technique. But at least it worked this time. Sometime later, I heard shuffling and mumbling; but I ignored it. Then a loud thud made me jerk.

_Shit. I forgot Jason was here._

I hurried out of bed and found him on the floor. He must've not felt the fall because he was still mumbling and panicking. "Jason, wake up," I shook him softly. When he continued, I repeated the same words but shook harder. I finally slapped his arm and those olive green eyes looked at me.

"Was I having a nightmare?" he asked, slowly sitting up and ruffling his hair.

"Yes. I think it's better for you to sleep in bed with me. I don't want you falling off again," I said, bringing him to his feet and tucking him in. I looked at the clock and it read 3:28am. I sighed, knowing I wouldn't have enough energy later today to want to do anything. Tucking myself back in, I rubbed Jason's back as he fell asleep again. I just hope he doesn't get another nightmare and punch me or something. That would be interesting.

* * *

><p>"So the interview is at one. That gives us enough time to prep and everything. After that, it's lunch at a restaurant and then you board the train back home. I'm going to miss you!" Sany sniffled.<p>

"I'm pretty sure you can visit anytime. Just make sure you bring swim suits," I grinned. Sany nodded and headed towards my room to get my clothes ready. I finished my oatmeal breakfast and sat on the couch. Then a certain someone decided to jump over me, scaring me half to death. "Must you do that?"

"Of course! Besides, I have a little something to show you," Finnick cooed and took out a camera.

"Is it more pictures of you? I already have to see you plenty back home. I should get a small break in between, you know," I laughed and flipped through the television channels.

"No, but it is something we all took interest in," he smirked and showed me the picture. It was Jason and I, on my bed, cuddling. I don't remember that from last night. "So, is there something going on with Jason and you? I mean, it's none of my business, just curious," Finnick smirked again.

"Will you stop smirking? He was having nightmares last night so I let him sleep in my bed with me. I don't remember the cuddling," I answered. When I woke up this morning, Jason wasn't there anymore. But he left a note saying he had to go to his floor and get ready for today. "Why were you taking pictures of us, anyway? And no, there's nothing going on between Jason and I. At least I don't think there is,"

"From the looks of it, it seems like Jason was protecting you more than you were to him," Finnick was right. Jason was holding me close with his arms around my waist. My hand was on his chest, clutching his shirt as if I were afraid to let go. "Sany asked me to wake you up and I find this. So I decided to save the moment for you," he laughed and put the camera away. "Do you have feelings for him? I know you rather talk about this with a girlfriend or something but from a guy's point of view, it's better not to fake feelings for him. You'll send the wrong message and you both can end up getting hurt," he added.

"Finnick, I think you made this a bit awkward," I laughed. "But we only had one kiss and that was because Jason thought I was going to kill him. He was the one who wanted to do it in the first place. But I honestly didn't mind it," I confessed. To be completely honest, I liked Jason kissing me. But if we ever got together, I don't think it would work out.

"Just be careful, I don't want you to become even more of the Capitol's talk," Finnick stood up and headed to his room to get dressed. I sighed, knowing he had a point. Jason and I were already the talk here because we're the first victors to come out alive together. But that wasn't our fault. They told us to stop right before I let my arrow go towards Jason. I guess I'll have to explain it all to him later.

"Kai, it's time to get ready!" Sany called out. Getting up from my comfortable seat on the couch, I dragged my feet back into the room. The dress I tried on yesterday was lying on the bed and Sany brought out a box which I only guessed contained the shoes I had to wear. "I know you're from four, but these would be much better than the others I found," he said, opening the box and pulling out a pair of brown cowboy boots. I snorted and took the boots from his hands.

"Hopefully I won't look too weird in these," I laughed, taking the dress and going to change in the bathroom. Sany always worked wonders on the things he put on me. The dress fit perfectly. I walked back out and asked Sany to zip me up. He adjusted the belt in the middle and helped me into the boots.

"I think this should definitely be worn for today," Sany took out the fish necklace gave me before boarding the hovercraft. I grinned, nodding my head as he put it on. "I'll just add some gold eye shadow, with eyeliner and braid your hair. No need to be so exaggerated," he smiled, gesturing for me to sit. As he did my makeup, I fiddled around with the necklace. I had too, forgotten about it until now. But I felt much better having it back in my possession. Sany finished and moved into braiding my hair. We talk about a haircut. Sany said my hair was getting too long for my own good. I laughed and shook my head. I liked my hair long, but maybe I trim won't be so bad. "Now that you're all done, let's get you down to the interview,"

"What do you think they'll ask about?" I asked him, walking in unison towards the elevator.

"The games, obviously. But maybe throw in how come you didn't kill Jason. The kiss, your lives back in your districts and what will become of your relationship together as friends or more," he answered. With that in mind, I began thinking of how to answer the questions from Caesar. Even though we have no idea what they could be, it was better to be prepared with something. Reaching the lobby and leaving the elevator, Sany and I quickly walked through the city circle towards the broadcast building. Capitol citizens were already filing up for the interview and coronation. Sany grabbed my hand and sprinted into a run. We were going in zigzags trying to get into the building. If it weren't for the few peacekeepers outside, we'd probably have to crowd surf to reach the door.

"Look who finally made it through that crowd," Finnick laughed and walked towards us.

"Have you seen them out there? They're all just so eager to see the interview and coronation. I think they're more eager about this than the actual games," Sany sighed, fixing my dress and hair from the running we did.

"That's why you always get here early! But for now, we better hurry up and get backstage. Don't want any angry citizens, now do we?" We walked towards the back of the stage where Mags, Johanna, Blight, Jason, and his stylist were already waiting.

Mags kissed my both cheeks and said, "Beautiful," I smiled and thanked her. Johanna made a snarky comment about how I looked like I belonged in District 10. I shooed her away as a stagehand waved his hand for us to get ready. Jason climbed the stairs first and stuck out his hand to me. I took it, making my way up too.

"Do I look okay? Please, be honest," he asked, spinning around for me. I chuckled and nodded.

"You look great," I said, just slightly adjusting his shirt. He was dressed casual as well; in fitted jeans, a gray shirt and sneakers to match.

"You look perfect," he said and kissed my forehead. I gave him a smile and thanked him.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, I give you the victors of the 72nd annual Hunger Games!" Caesar Flickerman's voice boomed and we took our queue to walk onto his stage. Jason and I walk out with each other's arms linked. Caesar greeted me with a kiss on the cheek while he greeted Jason with a handshake. I could feel the crowds' roars tremble the ground as we sat on the loveseat together. "Of course we can't forget the people who helped them survive out there!" he said as pictures of our mentors, stylists, prep teams and escorts where shown on a giant screen.

"Everyone, please welcome the strong and stealth, Jason Braun from District Seven!" The crowd roared again. Jason waved, giving everyone a smile and a shrugged. I've come to notice that he was such a modest boy. "Now welcome the fierce and beautiful protector, Kai Rankin from District Four!" I smiled and waved as well. The crowd whistles and cheers all at the same time. But Caesar's words ringing in my head again.

_Beautiful. Protector._

I do not think I'm beautiful, at all. And as for protector, I couldn't even protect Toby and bring him back home. Oh, how of an inaccurate description of me was said. "Never have we had two victors at the same time, tell me, how are you two feeling about this?" Caesar asked.

"I feel like this is just some type of good dream," Jason answered. "I did honestly think Kai was going to shoot me when I asked her to. I was thinking, 'Hey, I'm going to get killed by a girl," But I didn't mind," he laughed. I couldn't help it either. I covered my face and tried to hold back my laugh. Crowd laughed as well, as did Caesar.

"Kai, were you really going to kill Jason?" he asked me.

I shook my head. "I don't think I would've been able to. The only time I had to kill someone in the arena was to protect other people. Since there was no one else to protect, I wouldn't have done it," I admitted.

Caesar nodded. "Yes, we could all see how you tried your best to protect that one boy. But in the end, he protected you," he leaned back in his chair. "Now how about we see some exciting highlights of the games?" he grinned and pressed a button on the table between us. Clips from the games began to play and I could see Jason tense up. He was reliving his nightmares. First clip was when the girl jumped off her platform early and set off the mines. It was followed by Jason killing two tributes to escape from the Cornucopia. There was me shooting the boy with the arrow and Valeria finishing off a few others.

I may have been looking at the screen, but I wasn't completely paying attention to it. That is, until Jason squeezed my hand. I drew my attention back to the screen and relived the scene I've been trying to forget. Jason was dragging me away from Toby as a hovercraft came. I looked down; Caesar must've noticed my face because he wasn't hesitant to change the clip. He had moved onto the kissing scene. "Jason, you had said that you've never kissed a girl before. Now is that true or did you just say that to kiss Kai?" Caesar asked.

"No, I was telling the truth. I just wanted to get one kiss before I died. But I guess now I'll hopefully get more," Jason chuckled. I blushed; did he mean from me? I'm sure he didn't.

"Kai, did you like the kiss?" Caesar turned towards me. I bit my lower lip and nodded.

"I'm not going to deny it," I smiled. I turned towards Jason as he hugged me with one arm. The crowd awed and clapped. They lived for these types of moments.

"We don't think you would've," Caesar smiled. "Your victors from the 72nd Hunger Games!" he shouted, pulling Jason and I to our feet. We gave a small bow before being escorted off the stage. We were hurried to the president's mansion for the coronation. The whole time we were walking there, Jason ever let go of my hand. Explaining everything to him was going to be a lot harder than expected. At the Avenue of the Tributes, we rode a carriage, like one we had written for the parade, up to the mansion. Waving to the passing citizens, Jason and I raised our arms together. Once in front of the mansion, Peacekeepers helped us off and showed the way to our "thrones".

"Ladies and gentlemen please welcome your victors for this year's Hunger Games," President Snow spoke into a microphone. He turned to us with a laurel wreath in hand. He split it in half and crowned me first. Snow gave me a smile. But it wasn't like a congratulating smile; it was more of an '_I have plans for you in the future'_ type of smile. I frowned a bit, but quickly changed my face. I didn't want to start thinking of what this man could do to both of us for winning. Snow moved on to crown Jason with a stern look. I could see Jason's expression; confusion. Who could blame him? Snow was up to something, and hearing the rumors about him; it was not going to be good.

* * *

><p>"Wait, I still left some things in my room! I need to go back and get them!" I said as Finnick forcefully pushed me onto the train.<p>

"No need to! I had Petra get your extra things during the whole ceremony," Sany called out, tossing Finnick a black velvet bag. "I hope to see you soon!" he waved as I walked inside and waved from the window. Part of me was going to miss the Capitol. And by miss I meant Sany and my prep team. Like them, they were growing on me in the little time I had known them. Jason joined me, waving goodbye to the citizens, his stylist and prep team. The train started moving and I sat on the leather seat I was kneeling on.

"Kai, I need to talk to you about something," Jason said, taking my hand and pulling me to his compartment on the train. I sat on the window seat and looked out onto the sunset. "What's going to happen when we're home?"

I looked at him and patted the seat next to me. "I was going to ask you the same thing. Ever since the kiss in the arena, I feel like you have feelings for me. But we know it can't exactly work out because we live in different districts," I answered him. He nodded, agreeing with my point. He couldn't just move to four and I couldn't just move to seven. We had our own separate live in our own districts. "I think we should just stay friends,"

Jason gave me a small smile and sighed. "I think I can work with that. But does this also mean I can't kiss you anymore?"

I laughed. "Yes, because people who are just friends don't kiss each other," I said, unbraiding my hair and putting it into a low ponytail. "Do you want to keep kissing me?" I would be surprised if he answer was yes.

Jason nodded. "I do want to keep kissing you. How about friends with benefits?" I thought about this. Friends with benefits were friends with a physical attraction to each other. But I doubt it would go any further than kissing between us. So I nodded my head in agreement. "Okay. But if we start dating someone, it obviously has to stop,"

"Well aren't you the smart one here," I teased.

"Ha, very funny Kai," he said sarcastically. I shrugged at my poor attempt to be funny with him. We both sat in silence for a bit until I kept Jason staring at me. "Your eyes look really nice when the sun hits them,"

"Aw, you're too sweet," I pinched his cheek. "For that, you get one kiss," Jason laughed. Might as well put this all into very good use from now on.

"What if I compliment everything about you?" he asked, leaning in for his reward.

"You'll only ever get kisses," I grinned. He shrugged with a nod and laid his lips on mine. "How much would I have to compliment you to get a make out session?" Jason smirked when we parted.

"That, my friend, is going to take some time," I gave him an evil grin and walked over to his bed. "Now let's get some rest before getting home. Unless you want to continue the nightmares," Jason shook his head ferociously and dived into bed. Taking off my shoes, belt and necklace, I tucked myself next to him.

"Can I hold you instead this time? I feel better than way," he asked, opening his arms to me. I nodded, sliding towards him and letting him embrace brace me with this strong yet gentle arms. "I hope Finnick doesn't take more pictures of us,"

I laughed a bit too loudly. "Oh my god, I hope he really doesn't" We laughed until our cheeks started hurting. But then I could feel Jason getting tired by the way his grip loosened around my waist. I nuzzled my nose into his chest and for the first time, I took in his scent. It was some sort of sweet cologne. I guess it was more of his Capitol scent. If he were back home, I'm pretty sure he'd smell of pine. As the train rocked back and forth, I let my sleep consume me as I felt myself nuzzle closer to Jason. This was a nice feeling I was going to get used to.


	6. Aftermath

_**So sorry for a late update. Writer's block is such an annoying thing to deal with.**_

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><p>It has been little over a month since we returned from the Capitol. Since moving into the Victor's Village, I hadn't left the house much. The farthest I'd go is to the market for food. If not, I'd mostly be on the beach, which thankfully is my backyard. But Safire, Derrick, my parents, Finnick and Annie have come by every now and then to make sure I was still alive. But I think there's something else going on that they're not telling me. As for Jason; he hasn't visited yet, but he's called every night since.<p>

"Do you think this one looks okay?" Annie asked. We were sitting in my living room with Safire, making bracelets out of seashells and beads. My mom used to make them all the time when I was a little girl. But after Bryce's hunger games, she stopped. So I decided to continue her hobby.

"Maybe if you take out the shell towards the end and add this bead, it'll look better," Safire said, giving Annie a small golden oval bead. Annie took it, replacing the shell with the bead. She smiled as she let the sunlight shine on her new necklace.

"Thank you, Safire. It does look better this way," she nodded. Safire gave her a thumb up and set her bracelet down. I kept pondering about today, as if there was something special going on. But I couldn't quite put my finger on it. What could be so special about June 19? "Why don't we take a swim before lunch? We've been in here since ten and fresh air can do us some good," Annie asked.

I nodded, "I think that might be a good idea," Safire hurried off the couch and home. Annie cheered and walked with me to my bedroom for some bathing suits. Annie and I had become very close since she mentioned how Finnick is always talking about me. So on the day I finally met her, we hit it off immediately. Now, I'm her protector, well at least that's what Finnick says. I didn't mind at all. I've heard things that Annie's become a bit mad since her games. I didn't think she was; though sometimes she would cover her ears and shut her eyes. But I always calmed her down when it happened. "Do you want a one piece or two?"

"I'll take a one piece," Annie answered, taking the bathing suit into the bathroom to change. I took a red two piece bathing suit Safire bought during the winter for me. She said we had to work hard to fit into them for the summer. I fit, but the suit is a bit big on me. It was a red tank top with white on its edges. The bottom was a basic bikini bottom, matching the tank top. I quickly changed before Annie came out. I threw on a pair of swim shorts and pulled my hair up in a bun. I took Sany's advice after all. I cut my hair a bit below my shoulders and I liked it better this way. It was much less hair to comb and style. As Annie stepped out back into the room, I was already packing some towels, sun screen, sandals and sunglasses into a duffle bag.

"I'm sure Safire will meet us at the beach," I said, walking down the steps and towards the back door. We walked out together and into the blazing sun. A bad thing about District 4 was probably the really hot weather during the summer, but we were all used to it by now. But still, I'd sometimes rather be in the cold. Annie skipped to our usual spot near some rocks and sat in the sand. Once I joined her, I passed her the sun screen.

"Look, Safire is coming with her sister!" she pointed towards the house. I laughed, seeing that Safire was in fact with her younger sister, Corylee.

"Mom made me bring her along. She said we need sister bonding time," she rolled her eyes. Corylee stuck her tongue out at her and ran towards me.

"Hi Kai!" she greeted me with a tight hug. She was almost identical to Safire, except she had her dad's gray eyes.

"Hi Corylee, I hope you don't give your sister too much trouble today," I teased. Corylee shook her head and went straight into the water. Annie then joined her; her brown hair flowing as a light breeze passed by.

"I hate babysitting," Safire huffed.

"She's fourteen. Not really babysitting if you ask me," I laughed, dragging her into the water with me. We always did this thing were we would stand in the water, even if it was cold, and wait until our bodies got adjusted to it. It made swimming last a bit longer in our opinion. While Annie played a game with Corylee, Safire and I sat in the sand and watched over them. "You know, I still haven't given Lex that little black box Toby asked me to give her. I keep forgetting about it and since I barely leave the house, it doesn't come to mind much,"

"Maybe you should go later today. I'm sure she's desperate to know what's inside too," Safire answered. I nodded; knowing Lex would cry to know what was inside. But I think I would definitely go tomorrow. Right now, I just want to enjoy the day in the sun and feel alive again.

"Hey little fish, you have a visitor!" Finnick's voice came from behind us. I stood up, turning and gave him a questioning look. Finnick gave me a smirk and stepped to his right and there he was. He was now more muscular than the last time I saw him. I was pretty sure it was all the lumber work he did. His dark hair was messy as usual but now he also had a slight tan to his skin.

"Jason!" I screamed in excitement as I ran towards him. He opened his strong arms and caught me as I jumped onto him. I hugged him tight, as if it were years the last time we were together. Jason returned the gesture; I could feel him smiling against my neck.

"Hi little mermaid, did you miss me?" he asked. I snorted and hit the back of his head.

"You are not allowed to ask as idiotic questions! Of course I've missed you! I have no one to share my depression with," I said, burying my face into the crook of his neck. Jason sighed, holding me closer than before.

"I wanted to stop by earlier, honestly I did. But I had to fix some things back home. But calling you every night made the wait worthwhile," he smiled and set me on the ground. I grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the water. Since I came home, Safire has been asking non-stop about Jason.

"Jase, this is Safire. Safire, this is Jason," I introduced them. Jason greeted her with a handshake and pulled her to her feet. She grinned, accepting his handshake and engaging in a conversation. I walked over to where Finnick was now sitting as the waves crashed into his feet.

"I thought he came to visit you, not your friend," he said as I sat next to him. We watched as Annie and Corylee gathered some more seashells to make trinkets out of. I shrugged my shoulders at him.

"She gets like that when she thinks a boy is attractive. When she saw you for the first time in my house, she couldn't stop talking about you," I laughed. Safire sometimes became obsessive about boys she barely knew. And now it seemed like Jason was one of her victims.

"I'm going to the Capitol next week, watch Annie for me, please," Finnick asked. I nodded, not wanting to intrude on his business. We turned to see Jason walking fast towards us and sitting behind me.

"So what are we doing for my birthday?" Jason asked, placing his chin on my shoulder. I wrinkled my nose, in an attempt to think of something.

"Well, when is your birthday?" I asked.

He chuckled, "Today. Surprise!" he wiggled his fingers. I furrowed my eyebrows and looked at him. Son of a bitch.

"Jason Braun, today is your birthday and you're mentioning it now? Why didn't you tell me over the phone like last week or earlier?" I yelled at him as we ran towards the house. I chased him into the kitchen, where I threw my sandal at his head. "Now we have to plan something quick!" I said, hurrying to the shower to wash away all the sand and salt on me. Half an hour later, I was getting dressed in navy shorts and a double white and gray tank top. I put on a pair of slip-on shoes and walked downstairs.

"You don't have to plan anything, Kai. A cake and you is all I need," he said. Did he really mean it? Just us two and a cake? "You know, these are really good. Ever thought of selling them?" Jason held up a necklace I was working on. I entered the living room and shook my head at him.

"Alright, it'll be just as two _this_ time," I laughed. "They're just a hobby. Maybe in the future I'll sell some," I answered. But this whole birthday thing was still bugging me. "Why didn't you tell me it was your birthday today?"

Setting the necklace back on the coffee table, Jase sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Remember when I told you I had to fix things back home before I came over?" I nodded, setting myself on the couch. What type of trouble could he be in? "The thing is that my parents weren't too pleased with me not killing you. And when they saw the kiss, forget about it. So then my sister told them I wanted to visit you, but they wouldn't let me come,"

"But you're how old now? I'm pretty sure old enough for you to do some things as you please," I said. Was it really a big deal that he didn't _want_ to kill me? He had asked me to kill him instead. My parents were actually grateful that we both lived. They wanted to personally thank Jason for treating my wound from the knife.

"Nineteen now, but you know how some parents are. Even with me living in the Victor's Village, they still wouldn't let me out their sight," Jason laughed, leaning his head on my shoulder. I rested my head on his and sighed. "Even if I wanted to kill you, I don't think I could have," Jase then looked at me; his green eyes were filled with an emotion that I knew what was coming next. Right there, we shared our first kiss since the promise on the train. I think Jason felt it too. He kissed me gently as he pulled me closer. I felt passion, not lust as I had thought it would've been. Either way, I held his hand and gave it a light squeeze. Before parting, Jason gave me a light kiss and smiled. "Do you have any idea how long I've wanted to do that?"

I smile, looking down at our hands that are still holding each other. "Did you really miss me that much? I'm sure girls in seven were swooning over you," Because isn't that what happened to attractive victors? I mean, look at Finnick. But we all knew only one girl could ever get his attention that way.

"May be, but there's just one person I want _swooning_ over me," Jase smirked. By now, I was certain he meant me. But I wasn't sure if I'd ever return the feelings to him. Or at least not right now. "Kai, I have to tell you something. I really-,"

"Hey Kai, I think it's time you give Lex that black box Toby gave you," Finnick called out and cut off Jason from what he was going to say. I had completely forgotten about the box.

I nodded, "I'll stop by today," I turned back to Jason, who slightly furrowed his eyebrows at me. I shrugged, knowing he was thinking why I hadn't given Lex the box yet. "So what did you want to tell me?"

"Oh, it can wait," he smiled, getting to his feet and pulling me with him. "Let's go give that box to Lex," I nodded, heading to my room. For some reason, I still remember placing the box in my nightstand, but couldn't come to terms with handling it to her. I took the box, a bag and met Jason by the door. "How far does she live from here?" he asked as we walked together out of Victor's Village.

"Not far. She lives in the commercial part of the district. Many people think we live in huts because we're near the water," I laughed. I'm sure Jason thought the same thing before he stepped foot here. Our district was a bit industrialized, mixed with tropical living. It was a lot alike to a city named Los Angeles, which existed many years ago.

"Not going to lie, but I did think the same thing," he smiled. We walked for another ten minutes before reaching Lex's house. Jason stayed in front of the porch, as I climbed it and rang the doorbell. I began feeling nervous about what Lex's reaction would be. But she's had to be grateful, right? The door opened and out walked a girl with ashen blonde hair and gray eyes. Yup, this had to be Lexandra.

"Kai, right?" she asked me. I nodded, digging into my bag and taking out the small black box. Lex wrapped her arms around her belly and sighed. I handed her the box and watched as she opened it. Tears swelled up in her eyes as she placed the diamond ring in her wedding finger. "Was he really going to propose?" she choked.

"I'm guessing so, but he never mentioned it," I answered. Jason placed his arm around my shoulder as Lex found the little trap under the box. Lex cried harder as she examined the bracelet around in her hand. "I'm sorry,"

"No, no. It wasn't your fault. He did what he knew was right and by the way you reacted, I knew you were distraught," Lex looked down. "I don't blame you for anything,"

I smiled; reaching my arms out to her in an embrace. "Thank you. If you need anything, just let me know," Lex nodded and started heading inside. Jason and I stepped off the porch, but Lex had something else to say.

"You better treat her right!" she called out to Jason.

We turned around, but Jason looked surprised. "Sure, but we're not dating," he answered.

"Not yet you aren't," Lex smirked with a wave before closing her door. I laughed as Jason smiled and shook his head. We continued our walk around town as I showed Jason where were the usual spots Derrick, Safire, and I would go almost every day. By then, we had reached the bakery and looked for a cake to buy. "You don't have to do anything special, you know. I've gotten used to not having a cake for my birthday,"

"Stop being such a fun sucker! We're getting you a cake!" I argued and walked to the cake and pastry section of the shop. Light brown shelves were stocked with boxed cookies and muffins towards the back. Glass refrigerated displays were aligned neatly in front of the shelves. Circular tables were set up for indoor dining as people came and went. "Hey, Mrs. Kurt, how are you?"

"Kai, dear. I haven't seen you pigging out here lately," she smiled. Mrs. Kurt's red hair looked vibrant than usual and her brown eyes seemed tired. But who could blame her when you're raising 14-year-old twins. "I've been doing well. The shop is great, my husband is helping a lot more here whenever he can, and the kids, well they're the same amount of crazy since the day they were born,"

"After the games, I've just been cooped up in my house, not wanting to get out much," I shrugged at her. Mrs. Kurt gave me a sad smile and nodded. "Oh, this is Jason Braun, victor from District Seven and I'm here to get him a birthday cake. So what did you have in mind?"

"It's nice to meet you, Jason," Jason shook her hand and gave Mrs. Kurt a smile. She gestured us towards the cake section, but Jason stayed behind looking at something. I let him, seeing as he was now being really quiet. "Do you know what type of cake he likes?"

Duh, Kai. You forgot to ask Jason what flavors he likes. Turning to him, I asked, "Jase, what flavors do you like?"

"I really like pineapple," he called out. Mrs. Kurt laughed and wrote down the rest of the selections for the cake. She said it would be ready later today and that Liam, their delivery guy, would stop by my house when it was ready. I thanked her, paid for the cake and walked out with Jason. We walked back to my house, which was now deserted. "Is your house usually this quiet?" he asked, sitting back down on the couch and turning on the television.

I nodded. "No one really visits unless they haven't seen me in days. But I don't really mind; I like being alone nowadays," I say, setting my keys on the coffee table and joining Jason on the couch. We started watching a movie about two people who fall in love, get married and the wife loses her memory. I, of course, was sobbing like a baby. Jason was lowly laughing at me, but held me as I felt myself slowly falling asleep. This is what I get for going to sleep late and waking up early because Safire was banging on my door.

"Come on, let's get you up to bed," he whispered, picking me up bridal style and climbing the steps. I shook my head, too tired to say any words. I managed to direct Jason to my room with the small ounce of energy I had left. "I'll answer the door when Liam delivers the cake," he said as he laid me on the bed and covered me with a light blanket.

"No," I say and grabbed his arm. "They always call ten minutes before arriving. Stay here with me, please?" I begged. Giving me a sincere smile, Jason nodded and got into bed with me. Snaking his arm around my waist, he pulled me closer to his body. I turned towards him and sighed into his chest. I had missed him holding me protectively so much. Jason played with my hair as I felt my eyes get heavy again. I soon fell asleep, not caring about anything else around me anymore.

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><p>Ever since his birthday, Jason has stayed a week here and came back every two to three weeks whenever he could. We still continued our nightly phone calls and deal, but I wished he would stay here more often. Safire has been on my case about Jason ever since the first time he stayed over. At first, she would flirt with him whenever I wasn't around. But when he wouldn't return the flirting, she turned into a sourpuss.<p>

"Is Saf still being a jerk about Jason?" Derrick asked as we walked around in the street fair. Luckily, the July air wasn't hot and choking you like other days. It was cool and the clouds in the sky blocked out the sun fairly enough.

"Yeah, even though it's been a month since he first came. I think she's just upset that he showed no interest in here when she was hitting on him," I laughed. Derrick and I both found her attitude a good laugh. We just guessed it was jealousy. We kept walking along the narrowish path, packed with people until we reached the food section of the fair.

"Look! Mrs. Kurt's bakery has a stand here!" Derrick pointed out and dragged me towards it. I don't know how I missed it; I would've smelled her cupcakes from a distance. I saw Liam helping out selling the pastries and drinks. Mrs. Kurt, on the other hand, was arguing with a woman about the price of a slice of cake.

"I guess someone doesn't like the prices of your cakes," I smiled at Liam. He grinned, running his hands through his dark hair and sighing.

"Some people want cheaper for something that costs more to make. But for the lovely girl, you can have this cupcake and drink on the house," Liam smiled and handed me a cupcake and a lemonade. "Just don't let Mrs. Kurt see you,"

"What? No, I have to pay for this or else she won't make my favorite cupcakes anymore!" I whispered to him and searched my bag for money. But Liam shook his hand and told me to go before Mrs. Kurt turned around. "At least let me make it up to you,"

He nodded. "Alright, would you like to go on a date with me? Later tonight when they light up the streets and there are fireworks? I know it all sounds grand for a first date, but maybe we can give it a shot," Liam's face turned bright red and I couldn't help but chuckle. "I'm sorry, I'm so lame! Just forget I even asked," he turned away and picked up a box of cups to keep himself occupied.

"You're not lame, just really sweet," I stopped him. "But yes, I'll go on a date with you tonight," I smiled at him. His green eyes lit up like a young child on Christmas morning. He said he'd pick me up from my house after his shift at the stand. At least that gave me some time to freshen up and clean my room. God knows I will never see my floor if I don't soon. Leaving the stand, Derrick gave me a smirk and bumped his hip into mine.

"Looks like you have a hot date tonight," he laughed. I shoved him away and found us a small table to sit at. We quickly ran towards it considering everyone else was looking for places to sit besides the ground. I ate my cupcake as Derrick ate a burger he bought. "At least Safire will leave you alone about Jason now. But what are you going to tell him?" he asked. I gave him a weird look and raised an eyebrow. Why did he bring up Jason? "I saw you two kissing the other day I came to visit. But, it wasn't my position to go blab to everyone else,"

I nodded and explained the deal to him. "I guess it'll all have to stop if things do go further with Liam," I said. At the same time, I hoped things did go further with him but then I didn't. Being a teenager with raging hormones was a difficult thing. But now I had to talk to Jason. Good thing he's coming by tomorrow. "Where's Safire?"

Derrick shrugged. "She's been more to herself since us both hang out more now. I guess she's just being stubborn as always," We finished our food and took another stroll around the fair. Most of the people had gone home to rest up for tonight's carnival portion of the fair. As did the stands; they went to restock on merchandise and food. Derrick and I said our goodbyes before going in opposite directions. Just as I was a few feet away from my house, a figure sitting in front of my door startled me.

"Don't act like you're so surprised to see me?" Jason smirked and stood up. I rolled my eyes at him and opened the door.

"I thought you were coming tomorrow. Unless, I got the dates wrong," I said, setting the key on the table by the door and heading up to my room. I threw myself onto my bed, but felt Jason sit on it. "Shh, I have to take a nap for later," I said and covered my head with my pillow.

"Why? Got a date later?" Jason laughed, taking one of my feet and massaging it.

"As a matter of fact, I do. Liam asked me out on a date for tonight. But now you're here and it's all a bit weird," I answered. Jason squeezed my foot and released a sigh. I was pretty slow when it came to things like figuring out if someone likes you. Jason had confided in Derrick about his feelings for me. He only told me because he said hopefully I'd make the right choice one day. "You're mad, aren't you?"

He chuckled. "Why would I be mad? We aren't dating, we're just having fun," he said and lied down next to me. That's when I feel it.

* * *

><p>It upset me a bit that Kai was going on a date with Liam. I had seen how he was looking at her the first time we went to the bakery together. I was just a jealous person when it came to girls; even if they were just crushes. But when it came to Kai, it was obviously a lot worse than I had predicted. I first started liking her during the tributes' parade when I had gone up to her. After that, I had to distance myself a bit for the training. What really made my feelings grow for her was when she protected Toby and I while fighting Valeria. She put her life on the line to protect us. But now with her going on a date, I knew my jealousy would get the best of me.<p>

I looked over at Kai, who was staring at the ceiling. She was completely still; like a dead person. .._SHIT_! Why hadn't I noticed it before when she had gone quiet so quickly? "Kai, come back to me. Don't do this right now," I called out to her; waving my hand in front of her face. The day I told Derrick about my feelings for Kai, he told me about these paralyzing trances she goes into. When Kai wakes up, she can't remember her trances and just continues what she was doing before. I reach over to the night table or my phone and dial Derrick's number.

It rang a few times before the boy wonder picked up. "Hello?"

"Derrick, it's Jason. I need you to come over to Kai's house right now! She's gone into a trance and I don't know how to wake her up!" I began to panic. The line went dead and I knew he must've been rushing over here. I carefully moved Kai to the center of the bed and I sat on the edge. I kept calling out to her, hoping to get a response sooner than later. A few minutes passed and the bedroom door burst opened; to reveal Derrick breathing heavily.

"Let's put her in the shower; that's how we woke her up last time," he said. I nodded, carrying Kai to the shower and carefully lying her down. Derrick turned on the water and began splashing it on her. It was scary how her eyes would stay open and blink; but Kai wouldn't react to anything. I'm pretty sure half an hour had passed by when Kai was finally coming around.

She blinked repeatedly and looked up at us. "What are you guys doing in my bathroom? And why are you trying to drown me?" she sat up and rubbed her head. Derrick and I looked at each other; trying to come up with an excuse to use.

"We were waking you up from a nap so you can shower first, before your date tonight," Derrick said and handed her a towel. "We'll be downstairs if you need anything," he added, quickly pulling me out the bathroom and towards the kitchen. "We never mention these trances to her, unless it's extremely necessary. Deal?" I nodded. But when will it be extremely necessary to tell her?

* * *

><p>"So did you have a good time, tonight?" Liam asked me as we walked towards the boat rides at the lake. I nodded, eating some of the cotton candy he had bought me. When we arrived, we first headed towards the few rides they had and then it was towards wherever there was food. After that, we played carnival games until our hands were too full to carry anymore prizes.<p>

"Do you always take girls to carnivals to get a second date?" I joked. Liam smirked, shaking his head with a laugh. We set our prizes on the ground and sat on the curb of the sidewalk, watching other people pass by.

"Do you think we can do this again? You know, go on another date," he asked. I didn't see a reason for us not to. Unless you count the reason that's currently playing video games with Derrick at his place.

"Seeing as this was a pretty amazing one, I think you've earn another," I smiled and kissed his cheek. I was surprised I did it. Liam's face was even a brighter red than earlier today. I giggled, getting to my feet and picking up my winnings. "Wanna walk me home?" I asked; he nodded. Maybe something good can come out of this. But then I'd have to talk to the dear lumber boy that comes by every few weeks.


End file.
